Championship currently in Dune: Prophecy As the Mother Superior of the mysterious sisterhood that becomes the Bene Gesserit, Emily Watson earlier this year won the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at the Berlin Film Festival for her role as a different kind of formidable Mother Superior in the Irish drama. Little things like this.
Starring Tim Milantis, The Cillian Murphy is based on Clare Keegan's acclaimed novel of the same name and adapted by Enda Walsh. Watson plays Sister Mary, whose convent hides the Magdalene Laundries, enterprises run jointly by the Irish church and state where unwed mothers are sent to repent of their sins, do hard labor and ultimately give their children up for adoption.
Although Watson doesn't spend a lot of time in front of screens, the effect has been chilling. In her review for Deadline, Stephanie Bunbury wrote that Watson “brings an urgent sense of high stakes… she seems to vibrate with menace.”
The story takes place in the weeks leading up to Christmas 1985. Bill Murphy is a devoted husband, father of five daughters and coal merchant living in the traditional Irish town of New Ross in County Wexford. During birth rounds, he discovers that the local convent is actually a cruel institution taking in so-called “fallen girls and women.” His reaction to this discovery forces him to confront some difficult truths about the monastery, his hometown, and his own life.
In a key scene, Belle is basically trapped having tea and cake with Sister Mary. It's a two-player that Murphy previously told me is “so powerful because of what Emily does in that scene.”
Deadline recently spoke with two-time Academy Award-winning veteran and three-time BAFTA Award-nominee Watson about her experience on Little things like thiswhich she says originated when Murphy had “kind of a dream” that she would play Sister Mary.
Little things like this Produced by Murphy and his Big Things Films partner, Alan Moloney, along with Matt Damon and Drew Fenton of Artists Equity; And Catherine Magee. Executive producers are Ben Affleck, Michael Go, Kevin Halloran and Niamh Fagan.
Released by Lionsgate Little things like this in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States in November, with over $6 million at the global box office so far as its global rollout continues.
The conversation below has been edited and condensed for clarity.
DEADLINE: How you came to participate in Little things like this?
Emily Watson: Cillian wanted to have an all Irish cast, and then, I think they were having some trouble casting the part, he said he had some sort of dream that it was me, so they called me and offered me that. And I was completely sold.
The book is absolutely fantastic, and obviously anything to do with Cillian is as well. I didn't know Tim's work at the time, but I've been a fan ever since. It was a great experience. I mean, Killian – I'm going to say something that's quite controversial, but I think it's better Oppenheimer; His performance in this is very profound.
DEADLINE: Were you already familiar with the book?
Watson: I didn't actually, no, but I went out and bought it right away and, you know, kind of swallowed it in one shot, as it were. It's like a poem, it's like a soul, it's just a perfect story.
DEADLINE: What about dealing with this character? Often times, we hear actors say that they are trying to find some sympathy or understanding for the character they are playing and not judge them. How did you approach that?
Watson: She's clearly very powerful and influential in this society and doesn't have to do much to destroy people. I unfortunately kind of grew up around people like that a little bit.
It's not a direct parallel in any way, but I have a feeling for it – people who have such certainty that it makes them kind of emotionally dead, a little stupid, in a way.
It is the most unholy and unchristian thing she has presided over, and this is within her reach. And yet, she gets up and says, “The Lord is mercy and love,” and these two sit in her heart without conflict, or if there is conflict, it is very buried, or perhaps she is very angry… I don’t know, I think if she starts to raise a very small part, Everything will explode. So you have to kind of be emotionally closed off.
DEADLINE: When Cillian's character comes to the convent and Sister Mary corners her for tea, the scene is intense. How did you work on that?
Watson: I called Kilian before I took the job and said, “Look, where is this woman coming from? Where could she be from in Ireland? Is this how I can do it?” Once we got to the set, we were on the whole set, and Cillian, who was so wonderful and friendly and lovely, was completely composed, protecting himself from this woman. He holds his breath as long as possible. And it was exciting as an actor to go into a scene with that much meat. But there was nothing on the nose, there was nothing overt about it. There weren't any kind of big twists to play. It was like dancing, I guess… We did it with two cameras, so we were working together simultaneously. (It's) the feeling of young people that it doesn't matter, you don't matter. When I saw the movie in Berlin, I wanted to crush someone. It made me so angry. I was so angry about that.
But it's also because of this feeling that young people have been isolated and kept out of their lives, and that's that. I did a film about a social worker a long time ago, but I remember the woman I played came to a Q&A and said, “When you make a decision about a child, it's a decision for a lifetime.” And this feeling of power over these children and these young women and the cruelty of it, and that it's all about shame, it's kind of monetizing shame in some way…this powerful institution that controls everything and there's nothing you can do.
This is what makes what Bill is doing dangerous. I mean, after the last frame of the movie, what happens? There's something about not being a spectator.
DEADLINE: As he escorted the girl from the convent home to meet his family, there was a small smile on his face, and she thought there was something a little hopeful about it.
Watson: But also this kind of slow build to it, there's a kind of pent-up euphoria to it. And I love the fact that Cillian, of all the things he could do next OppenheimerThis is where he chose to shine the spotlight.
And watching all the relationships around him, like his relationship with Eileen Walsh (who plays Bill's wife) is so beautiful, they've been friends for decades. And you know, you can't buy that, right? It's real, it's on screen. Many of his collaborators are people he has known and cherished for a long time.
DEADLINE: Speaking of time, you cast a long shadow but you're not actually on screen much.
Watson: It was like two or three business days. We shot this big scene in one day, which was like a huge mountain to climb, and it was really exciting and terrifying, but it was kind of cool. Then there are other parts and parts around it, in the city and in the church and so on. But my visit was short. It was a really beautiful thing that arrived on my desk and I said, “What a gift.” I've been on hiatus from Sand dunes And I was thinking, “I'm going crazy.” Then this beautiful piece of pearl arrived.
DEADLINE: And then the film not only opened the Berlin Film Festival, but you won a big award there…
Watson: It was a bit of a shock. I wasn't expecting that, but it's very nice to see that – to have that in person, but also to see the film known, because it doesn't just feed you what you're thinking, and it asks a lot of questions.
