Small Things Like These | 2024 | PG-13 | – 2.3.2

Why is “Small Things Like These” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “thematic material.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kiss and embrace, some flirting and catcalling, several implications of teen pregnancy, a discussion of Magdalene Institutions in Ireland, a woman that dies is shown motionless on the ground as her young son runs toward her, a man is shown to be struggling with anxiety and inner conflicts about something he witnessed, a few arguments and some exclamations. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Set in 1985 Ireland: When a man (Cillian Murphy) discovers an unsavory truth about the activities in a nearby Catholic convent, he takes it upon himself to make a change, against the advice of all of those around him, who do not want him to get involved. Also with Eileen Walsh, Emily Watson, Clare Dunne and Zara Devlin. Directed by Tim Mielants. [Running Time: 1:38]

Small Things Like These SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A man tries to kiss a woman, she pushes him away and says, “Get off.” A man and a woman hold hands, embrace and kiss tenderly.
► Teen boys walk behind teen girls making suggestive remarks and the teen girls brush them off. A woman serving several men and a young man food tells the boy he needs to eat more to put “hair on his chest” and asks about whether there is a girl in the picture. A man asks his teen daughter if any of the workmen at her work are behaving inappropriately toward her and she says they are not. A woman asks a man about whether he is disappointed for having five daughters and no son to carry on his name.
► We read that Magdalene Institutions operated from 1922-1998, delivering teen girls’ babies and taking the newborns away from their mothers. We understand that a woman had a child out of wedlock and was taken in by a wealthy woman.

Small Things Like These VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – A young boy runs toward his mother that he sees on the ground in the distance and we see that she is lying motionless and has blood on her nose; we understand that she is dead and a woman tries to shield the child from getting close. A woman and her teenage daughter struggle and scuffle as the woman pushes the teen toward the entrance of a convent while the teen pleads with the woman not to make her go. A teen girl pleads with a man in a convent to take her with him when he leaves; she says, “Don’t leave me here” and they are both reprimanded by a nun. A man hears whimpering inside a dark coal shed and finds a teen girl hiding there; this happens twice and he helps her out both times.
► A man walks on dark streets at night and we hear jackhammers in the distance; he sees a barefooted young boy drinking from a milk saucer on the street. A man stands at the grave of his mother and we see that she died when she was 25 years old.
► A young boy walks along a road picking up sticks; a man in a truck stops and asks the child if he wants a ride home and the child declines. Several siblings of varying ages bicker in a few scenes. Several children write letters with their wish lists to Santa Claus and their mother burns them later. A woman says that a neighboring family sold their livestock and is trying to sell their land. A man seems lost in his thoughts and troubled in many scenes. A man breathes heavily and seems very upset in several scenes. A young boy gets a gift of a hot water bottle for Christmas and cries in disappointment. A young boy asks about his father after his mother dies. Radio broadcasts report about a boxing match and people talk about the event. A young boy talks about his dog running away. A woman identifies a teen girl as “the one that caused all the drama.” A wife asks her husband, “What ails ya?”
► Many pregnant teen girls are shown working in the kitchen and laundry room of a convent; a few are seen scrubbing floors on their hands and knees. A woman asks a man about his eldest daughter getting a “leaving certificate” presumably to leave school and move on. A nun gives a man a card filled with cash and he takes it reluctantly. A man and a boy jokingly make funny faces at each other. A man shovels coal frantically. Several scenes show men splitting wood, and loading and unloading trucks with wood and coal.
► A woman scrubs her young son’s coat and we understand that he had been spat on by other children. A man washes coal dust and grime off his hands using a coarse brush and he scrubs feverishly in one scene leaving his hands reddened.

Small Things Like These LANGUAGE 2

 – 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (smarty-pants, little miss perfect, brats, poor girl, silly game, a big nothing, poor creature, nuisance), exclamations (hush, don’t be daft), 11 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus Christ, oh my God, my God, oh God, God help us, thank God). | profanity glossary |

Small Things Like These SUBSTANCE USE

 – People in a pub drink beer and smoke cigarettes in a few scenes, a woman says of a man that he is never not drunk, and a woman drinks glasses of what is probably sherry in a few scenes.

Small Things Like These DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – The Catholic Church, Magdalene Institutions, teen pregnancy, adoption, bribery, mercy, sins, faults, looking after yourself despite others, keeping quiet about nefarious activity, death of a parent, abuse, adoption, “A Christmas Carol,” “David Copperfield,” Charles Dickens.

Small Things Like These MESSAGE

 – To get on with life, people have to question the wicked things that others do.