The film, based on Claire Keegan's 2021 Booker-shortlisted novella, follows the story of Bill Furlong, a coal merchant in Wexford, who discovers a distressing situation at the local Magdalene Laundry.
These laundries housed women and girls who were often sent there after becoming pregnant outside of marriage, typically by family members, welfare authorities, the courts, police, clergy, and church organizations.
Murphy, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer, plays Furlong in this 1985-set drama. His character, a father of five daughters, encounters a young girl imprisoned in a convent, and the story unfolds from there.
“It’s a deceptively simple story, but it carries an incredibly complex narrative,” Murphy said on BBC Radio Ulster’s Vinny & Cate show.
Reflecting on that era in Ireland, Murphy noted, “Back then, you had the Kerry Babies case in ’84, moving statues in ’85, and no access to abortion, divorce, or perhaps even contraception. It was a completely different landscape.”
The film aims to evoke an earlier era, Murphy explained, saying, “We’re intentionally creating an atmosphere that feels like the ‘50s or ‘60s—it’s only when a song like ‘Come On Eileen’ plays that you realize it’s actually 1985.”
Murphy added that he was struck by the film being labelled “historical” but observed, “It shows how much this country has transformed since then. Those laundries were in operation until 1996, which is hard to comprehend.”
Between 1922 and the eventual closure of the last Northern Irish facility in 1990, at least 10,500 women spent time in mother-and-baby homes.
Murphy’s co-star, Eileen Walsh, expressed hope that the film will spark conversations. “There’s so much beneath the surface,” she said. “Three people could watch it and walk away with three different interpretations of the ending, or feel empathy for different characters at various points.”
“The story ends just as the real drama begins,” Walsh continued. “So everyone will leave with their own idea of what happens next.”