36/17
In 1985 devoted father Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers shocking truths of his own.. Cillian Murphy is a fan of the film's original novel writer Claire Keegan. He remembers reading her novel "Foster" on a train and having to pull his hoodie over his face because he was crying.. Eileen Furlong: If you want to get on in this life, there are things you have to ignore.. Dedicated to the more than 56,000 young women who were sent to Magdalene institutions for "penance and rehabilitation" between the years 1922 and 1998.And the children who were taken from them.. Featured in 60 Minutes: Crisis in the Red Sea/Fake Electors/Finding Cillian Murphy (2024). I could watch Murphy stare at a wall watching paint dry for 2 hours and I'd still buy a ticket.Here, as Bill Furlong, he conveys a sadness that is rarely seen or understood by the people close to him. But we (the audience) can see it's there.I won't go into the story that much. Honestly, there's not much there. But that doesn't mean it's a bad movie. It just means that it's a simple story. But one that is very well written, beautifully shot (The whole time, I believed I was in Ireland during the eighties) and incredibly well acted.The Magdelene laundries were a real thing up until 1996, when the last one closed. Unmarried, pregnant teens were sent to monasteries to give birth and lose their child to forced adoption. All the while, they were abused as cheap labor by the nuns who were running the laundries. Sometimes, they were also physically abused and mistreated. It has left a mark on the soul of the country.Eileen Walsh, who plays Ms. Furlong, also starred in the Magdalene sister, a movie from 2003. Coincidence or not: I suggest that you check it out because it's a perfect bookend to this gem of a movie.