Small Things Like These
In 1985 devoted father Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers shocking truths of his own.
Despite its limited budget of $3.0M, Small Things Like These became a box office success, earning $12.5M worldwide—a 318% return. The film's fresh perspective attracted moviegoers, illustrating how strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
4 wins & 11 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Small Things Like These (2024) exhibits deliberately positioned narrative design, characteristic of Tim Mielants's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 39 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.5, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Bill Furlong delivers coal in the predawn darkness of New Ross, Ireland, going about his daily routine as a respected coal merchant in the community.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Bill makes a coal delivery to the convent and glimpses a distressed girl locked in the coal shed, introducing him to the hidden cruelty of the Magdalene laundry.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Bill chooses to return to the convent to investigate further, actively deciding to pursue the truth rather than look away, despite knowing the social cost., moving from reaction to action.
At 50 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Bill is confronted by Mother Superior, who offers him a bribe and makes thinly veiled threats about his family and business if he continues to ask questions, raising the stakes significantly., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 74 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Bill finds Sarah locked in the coal shed again on a freezing night, near death from hypothermia and neglect—a moment of literal life-or-death crisis that represents the "whiff of death" and the complete moral collapse of inaction., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Bill makes the decisive choice to take Sarah home with him, synthesizing his mother's legacy of kindness with his own moral courage, choosing conscience over complicity regardless of cost., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Small Things Like These's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Small Things Like These against these established plot points, we can identify how Tim Mielants utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Small Things Like These within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Bill Furlong delivers coal in the predawn darkness of New Ross, Ireland, going about his daily routine as a respected coal merchant in the community.
Theme
A character mentions the importance of keeping one's head down and not asking questions in their town, establishing the theme of complicity versus conscience.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Bill's life: his loving family, his coal business, the Catholic-dominated town preparing for Christmas, and flashbacks to his mother's unwed pregnancy and the kindness shown to them by Mrs. Wilson.
Disruption
Bill makes a coal delivery to the convent and glimpses a distressed girl locked in the coal shed, introducing him to the hidden cruelty of the Magdalene laundry.
Resistance
Bill wrestles with what he saw, receives warnings from his wife and others not to interfere with the convent, and continues to see signs of the institution's cruelty during deliveries. He debates whether to act or remain silent.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Bill chooses to return to the convent to investigate further, actively deciding to pursue the truth rather than look away, despite knowing the social cost.
Mirror World
Bill encounters Sarah, a young woman trapped in the laundry, who becomes the embodiment of all the silenced victims and mirrors his mother's past vulnerability as an unwed mother.
Premise
Bill navigates the moral tension between his growing awareness of the convent's abuses and the pressure from the church, his wife, and community to maintain the status quo. He investigates quietly while the weight of knowledge burdens him.
Midpoint
Bill is confronted by Mother Superior, who offers him a bribe and makes thinly veiled threats about his family and business if he continues to ask questions, raising the stakes significantly.
Opposition
Pressure intensifies from all sides: his wife fears social and economic ruin, the community closes ranks around the convent, and Bill becomes increasingly isolated. His memories of his mother's kindness haunt him as he witnesses ongoing cruelty.
Collapse
Bill finds Sarah locked in the coal shed again on a freezing night, near death from hypothermia and neglect—a moment of literal life-or-death crisis that represents the "whiff of death" and the complete moral collapse of inaction.
Crisis
Bill sits with Sarah through the night, confronting the full weight of his choice: save her and face the consequences, or return her and preserve his family's safety and his place in the community.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Bill makes the decisive choice to take Sarah home with him, synthesizing his mother's legacy of kindness with his own moral courage, choosing conscience over complicity regardless of cost.
Synthesis
Bill brings Sarah into his home, faces his family's reaction, and prepares to confront the social and economic consequences of his decision, standing firm in his choice to do what is right.
Transformation
Bill, having broken his silence, sits with his family as they absorb the change he has brought into their lives—transformed from a man who keeps his head down into one who acts on his conscience.