A Masterclass in Quiet Defiance: Cillian Murphy’s Acclaimed 94% Historical Drama Small Things Like These Departs Netflix This Week
Subscribers looking to catch one of Cillian Murphy’s most praised, nuanced screen performances face a rapidly closing window: the acclaimed 2024 historical drama Small Things Like These is officially scheduled to depart Netflix on October 27.
Arriving on the service earlier this year following Murphy’s Academy Award victory for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the film stands as a stark stylistic opposite to explosive Hollywood biopics. Holding a 94% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, the adaptation trades high drama for a haunting, restrained study of complicity, quiet bravery, and moral reckoning.
The Story: Uncovering the Dark Secrets of Christmas 1985
Set in a frostbitten Irish town in County Wexford during the weeks leading up to Christmas 1985, Small Things Like These follows coal and timber merchant Bill Furlong (Murphy):
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An Ordinary Life: Furlong is a taciturn, diligent family man raising five daughters alongside his wife Eileen, working long hours to keep his business afloat amid severe economic depression.
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The Magdalene Laundry: While delivering a routine coal shipment to the local convent, Bill makes a harrowing discovery inside the facility’s coal shed—stumbling onto the grim realities of the Magdalene laundries, institutions run by Roman Catholic orders where “fallen” young women were subjected to forced labor, isolation, and institutional abuse.
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A Community Bound by Silence: Confronted by the intimidating Mother Superior, Bill is met with a chilling unspoken rule across town: speaking up risks social ruin, economic boycott, and spiritual excommunication.
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A Moral Crossroads: Haunted by memories of his own late mother—an unwed teenager who was only saved from institutionalization through the private charity of a Protestant employer—Bill must decide whether to protect his family’s fragile stability or act against widespread communal indifference.
Literary Foundations and Historical Weight
The drama is adapted directly from the celebrated 2021 novella by acclaimed Irish author Claire Keegan:
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Award-Winning Heritage: Keegan’s original book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Rathbones Folio Prize, winning the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
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Confronting Real History: The film addresses the lingering shadow of the Magdalene laundries, which operated across Ireland from the 18th century until the final facility in Dublin officially shuttered in October 1996.
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Subtle Storytelling: Rather than relying on overt melodrama, the narrative hinges on tiny gestures, heavy pauses, and the profound moral consequences of everyday silence.
Critical Acclaim: “An Understated Masterclass”
Arriving in theaters in early 2024, the film solidified Murphy’s standing as one of cinema’s most expressive minimalist performers:
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Restraint Over Spectacle: Critics praised Murphy’s ability to communicate internal crisis entirely through weathered glances, quiet sighs, and tense physical composure.
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Audience Reception: Viewers have widely lauded the film as an emotional masterclass, praising the cinematography’s chilly natural lighting, the evocative score, and the ensemble cast’s grounded realism.
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Pacing and Atmosphere: While some viewers noted its deliberate, slow-burn tempo and open-ended resolution, critics emphasized that this restraint is precisely what gives the ending its lingering, emotional gut-punch.
Streaming Countdown: Leaving October 27
Netflix has posted an active departure notice confirming October 27 as the final date the title will be available on the catalog:
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Short Streaming Window: The film departs the platform just months after its initial SVOD addition.
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Unknown Future Home: No alternative streaming home or follow-up platform has yet been confirmed for the title following its Netflix exit.
For viewers seeking an intimate, deeply affecting drama that captures Cillian Murphy at the height of his dramatic craft, Small Things Like These remains essential viewing before it exits the service on Tuesday.
