Throughout the film, in which Bill also reflects on his own childhood, the character is presented as a fundamentally decent man, but one who speaks exclusively to RadioTimes.comMurphy explained why it wasn’t right to see him as a hero.

“I think it’s a curious look,” he said of the film’s perspective. “Because it has been dealt with in previous films, this time in the history of Ireland. So it’s a book written by a woman about a man – it’s a male protagonist – but it’s really a story about women. So it’s a very interesting vision in that sense.”

He added that he had heard Keegan explain in a podcast his own reasons why he didn’t see Bill’s character as a hero.

“She sees him as someone who is falling apart,” he explained. “Who’s going through a very, very deep, emotional reckoning, and he meets this girl, and that precipitates this act and this gesture and this… but it’s kind of a whole other engine that’s running.” , which is I think primarily about pain and loss.”

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He continued: “And a lot of this has to do with his love for his daughters and his wife, so it’s very, very complex. It’s not just about the church, although that’s what colors everything and informs everything in that city. .

“We shot in New Ross (and) when you go there, there are steeples everywhere. It feels like a garrison town. You’re immersed in that there.”

Murphy’s co-star Emily Watson had previously explained to him RadioTimes.com as Murphy’s passion for the project. – of which he is also a producer – crossed paths on the set.

“When I met him on set, he was completely immersed in Bill Furlong,” he said. “So he was very, very quiet, like a simmering bomb, you know, unexploded, in a way; he didn’t really say much, he was completely involved.”

Small Things Like These is now showing in UK cinemas.

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