It’s 1985 and Christmas is coming to the Irish town of New Ross, where coal merchant Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy) comes across a teenage girl in a local convent who begs him for help.

The infamous Magdalene laundries, where thousands of young women were abused by Catholic orders through generations, inspired a novel and this screen adaptation that focuses on a man who feels the burden of his childhood while also getting a taste of the church’s immense moral hypocrisy.

A somber piece, with a good cast, illustrating grief and shame, with a bitter dash of Christmas.

2024-Ireland-Belgium. 98 min. Color. Directed by Tim Mielants. Screenplay: Enda Walsh. Novel: Claire Keegan. Cast: Cillian Murphy (Bill Furlong), Eileen Walsh (Eileen Furlong), Michelle Fairley (Mrs. Wilson), Emily Watson (Sister Mary), Clare Dunne, Peter Claffey.

Trivia: Co-produced by Murphy and Matt Damon; co-executive produced by Ben Affleck.