Small things like these: An Alternative Christmas Movie to Watch This Season
Dec 24, 2024
The long-awaited movie based on the book by Irish author Claire Keegan has finally hit the screens! It’s a fresh twist on your typical Christmas film, perfect for anyone looking for something different during the holidays. Directed by Tim Mielants, a young Belgian filmmaker, this adaptation comes with some serious Hollywood backing, featuring production support from Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Cillian Murphy.
illian Murphy portrays Bill Furlong, an ordinary working-class Irish man living in the town of New Ross. He owns the local coal and lumber business and is a dedicated worker who always strives to do his best for both his community and his family. Bill is married and has five daughters. His life appears to be well within the routine of daily existence in the town. However, in the winter of 1985, with Christmas approaching, everything is about to change for Mr. Furlong when he becomes involved in a matter that the town has kept secret for far too long.
Director Tim Mielants knows Cillian Murphy pretty well since he directed all six episodes of the third season of Peaky Blinders.
The film, like the book, focuses on the everyday moments in this man's life, but it does so in different ways. In the book, Keegan provides detailed descriptions of the various settings where the story unfolds. In contrast, the film presents only a few selected locations. While these choices are understandable given the brevity of the audiovisual format, it is somewhat disappointing that these spaces are not more fully developed. Compared to the book, the film doesn't dive deep enough and ends up leaving us wanting more.
The Irish author incorporates several conversations in her work, featuring dialogues between the protagonist and various community members. While these dialogues are abundant in Keegan's writing, the film adaptation barely captures two of the main conversations. The voices of the characters are muted in the film, likely symbolizing the submission of an entire community to the authority of the Catholic Church.
It's pretty clear that the movie can't completely capture all the narrative elements from Keegan's work, but it’s a bit disappointing that we don’t get to see Mr. Furlong’s relationship with the New Ross community really develop. The characters barely get a chance to speak, only popping up in a few scenes, and Furlong hardly interacts with them, just exchanging small gestures of kindness. This probably mirrors the feeling of alienation and distance he experiences during his existential crisis this Christmas.
If you want to really get the film, you have to read the book first. The movie can be a bit confusing, so it helps a lot to check out the book before diving into it, or you can always read the book after watching the film.
In the film, you can see all the different elements that highlight the richness of Keegan's work get a bit lost in the overwhelming sense of sadness that fills the screen the whole time. While this atmosphere of silence, combined with Murphy's expressions, is entirely understandable, because it really shows the emotions and thoughts he's dealing with during this time.
To sum it up, the film takes Keegan's work and turns it into a slice-of-life experience that loses a lot of its storytelling depth. The Christmas vibe, which is a key part of the story, gets kind of overshadowed because the film focuses more on the sad, melancholic theme. While the sadness makes sense—since it reflects the inner struggle of Mr. Furlong—it’s a big deal because it helps explain the surprising choices he makes when he takes on the local Catholic Church. However, by skipping over some important parts of Keegan's world, the film ends up feeling a bit lacking. Still, it brings us a raw and interesting story that can be a different sort of watch for the holiday season.
