Cillian Murphy may just have earned himself the distinction of being Hollywood’s biggest female ally, days after Saoirse Ronan stunned her ‘woke’ male colleagues into silence with a stark reminder about gender-based violence.
Fans praised Murphy, 48, after the Peaky Blinders actor reflected on his forthcoming film Small Things Like These, based on Irish writer Claire Keegan’s critically acclaimed book of the same name.
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022, Keegan’s bestselling historical fiction novel takes readers inside Ireland’s Magdalene laundries through the eyes of coal merchant and devoted family man Bill Furlong (played by Murphy in the movie adaptation).
Magdalene laundries, also known as Magdalene asylums, were church-run institutions that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries and housed ‘fallen’ women – with conditions that were described as being ‘worse than any prison’.
As Murphy reflected on the plight of women and children in the laundries at an event promoting the new flick, he noted how such groups often suffer the most from institutional scandals and failings – and fans have hailed him as a man who truly understands the issues women face in society.
Fans praised Murphy, 48, after the Peaky Blinders actor reflected on his forthcoming film Small Things Like These, based on Irish writer Claire Keegan’s critically acclaimed book of the same name
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022, Keegan’s bestselling historical fiction novel takes readers inside Ireland’s Magdalene laundries through the eyes of coal merchant and devoted family man Bill Furlong (played by Murphy in the movie adaptation)
When asked whether he thinks the film will inspire ‘more change in respect to this particular topic’ of how women’s rights and freedoms are curtailed and controlled, the Oppenheimer star issued a heartbreaking statement.
He said: ‘It’s always women and children that are the collateral damage in these situations, when there’s absolute power, and that’s happening all the world I think.’
Magdalene laundries were set up to reform women considered sexually promiscuous, unmarried mothers, as well as disabled and orphaned women and girls with nowhere else to turn.
Survivors have provided horrifying accounts of abuse within the walls of these workhouses, including being deprived of food, subjected to degrading punishments, and beaten senselessly.
It is estimated that more than 30,000 women were locked away in these Magdalene laundries across the country between 1922 and 1996, with Ireland officially admitting its responsibility for their ‘enslavement’ in 2013.
And their horrors continue to be unearthed three decades after the first mass graves at a laundry in Dublin sparked nationwide anger.
Next February, a mass grave at a mother and baby home in Tuam, Galway, will be exhumed after the remains of nearly 800 babies and children were discovered in a septic tank in 2017.
Set in County Wexford in December 1985, Small Things Like These follows middle-aged coal trader Bill Furlong (Murphy) after he realises a local convent in his community is actually a Magdalene laundry.
Fans praised Murphy’s response to a question about his new film about the Magdalene laundries
The movie stars Eileen Walsh, who also starred in The Magdalene Sisters about these workhouses, as Murphy’s on-screen wife Eileen Furlong.
Emily Watson plays the role of Sister Mary in the film adaptation of Keegan’s hard-hitting novel.
At the film’s UK premiere in London on October 25, Cork-born Murphy spoke to The Upcoming about the impact he hopes Small Things Like These will have, adding ‘it is about the power of the individual in many ways’ and that it will be ‘provocative in a gentle way’.
A clip from Murphy’s interview went viral on X, where his response resonated with several people.
One tweet read: ‘When there is an infringement of politics, it is always women and children who suffer. This is happening not just in one country, but all over the world. In such situations, their rights and security are overlooked.
‘This is truly correct.’
Another person said: ‘Absolutely. That insight is both powerful and heartbreaking.’
A third user wrote: ‘This is so true. And where you find a civilisation where everyone is the same race and religion, the ones that get suppressed are the women and children.
One person also noted the contrast between Murphy’s considered response and Graham Norton, Paul Mescal, and Eddie Redmayne’s reactions to a joke about self-defence that prompted Saoirse Ronan to interject on behalf of women around the world.
‘He would applaud Saoirse Ronan,’ the comment read, referring to Ronan’s sobering reminder of what ‘women face on a daily basis’ during an appearance on the Graham Norton show last week.
The profound moment came after Redmayne, 42, shared that his training for a new series The Day of The Jackal included learning how to use a phone to retaliate in the event of an attack.
One person also noted the contrast between Murphy’s considered response and Graham Norton, Paul Mescal, and Eddie Redmayne’s reactions to a joke about self-defence that prompted Saoirse Ronan to interject on behalf of women around the world
‘He would applaud Saoirse Ronan,’ the comment read, referring to Ronan’s sobering reminder of what ‘women face on a daily basis’ during an appearance on the Graham Norton show alongside Gladiators actor Paul Mescal last week
Ronan was praised for schooling an all-male panel, also comprising Eddie Redmayne (right) and Denzel Washington (left) about gender-based violence and what it’s like being a woman
Breaking into laughter, Mescal, 28, quipped: ‘Who is actually going to think about that? If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to go “phone”.’
Sharing the joke, Norton, 61, mimicked holding a phone to fend off an attacker joking, ‘Can you hold on a second?’ to which Redmayne said, ‘That’s a very good point.’
But the laughter quickly died down when Ronan reminded the male panellists: ‘That’s what girls have to think about all the time.’
‘Am I right, ladies?’ she then asked the crowd, eliciting a huge round of applause from the studio audience.
After her mic-drop moment went viral, Ronan was widely praised on social media for giving her ‘nice guy’ male co-stars a moment of pause while highlighting the issue of violence against women.
‘Saoirse Ronan has a very strong presence and isn’t afraid to speak her mind,’ said one X user tweeted.
Another female user said: ‘I admire Saoirse Ronan so much – when she mentions how women have to think constantly how to defend ourselves from attack and everyone goes quiet and then cheers. She’s so right!’
A third called Ronan ‘a queen,’ saying that ‘men need a reminder what it’s like being a woman so they can appreciate their privilege.
Murphy attended the London premiere of Small Things Like These with his co-stars Eileen Walsh (left) and Emily Watson (right)
The user noted that ‘the silence after she said that speaks volumes,’ while another said ‘the silence is taking me out.’
A separate user said that the clip ‘encapsulates men being ignorant of male privilege in a nutshell.
‘The fact that these guys – nice guys mind – are just so unaware is almost terrifying,’ the user added. ‘Thank goodness for Saoirse though because we all need a bit more attention drawn to this.’
One user said the moment was a microcosm of how men and women communicate, saying that ‘this is what it feels like to have any convo with men ever.’
Another person added that tone deafness in regards to the gender issue was evident in the excerpt from the popular British talk show.
‘The thing that angered me the most is that Saoirse Ronan, the only woman on the panel, had to almost fight to make her point amongst a group of laughing men who didn’t consider her input or the experiences of women,’ the user said.
‘Almost as if that’s the entire f****** problem isn’t it?’
Murphy previously credited his wife Yvonne McGuinness as the driving force behind the screen adaptation of Keegan’s book.
In an interview with RTE Radio 1, the Oscar-winner revealed that McGuinness, who he married in 2004, suggested turning the stirring novel into a movie, adding: ‘I have to give her all the credit for this.’
One X user documented how Murphy brought focus top McGuinness’ contribution in interviews about Small Things Like These, following his Oscars tribute to McGuinness.
Accepting the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as the father of the atomic bomb, J Robert Oppenheimer, Murphy thanked ‘my partner in life and art’ McGuinness during an emotional speech.
