Review of Brooklyn (2015) by Patrick L — 07 May 2016

"What a lovely and exquisite film this is.".

Movie Review: Brooklyn.

Date Viewed: January 13 2016.

Directed By John Crowley (Is Anybody There? and Closed Circuit).

Screenplay By Nick Hornby, Based on the novel by Colm Toibin.

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Jessica Pare, Brid Brennan, Jane Brennan, Fiona Glascott, Emily Bett Rickards and Jenn Murray.

"Brooklyn" is a downright crowd-pleaser. What a lovely and exquisite film this is. Saoirse Ronan is amazing in a performance that's virtually guaranteed to earn her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. This period drama is also best love story of the year. The romance here is more sweet, more engaging and more real than any Nicholas Sparks movie.

Set in the early 1950s, Ronan plays Ellis Lacey, a small-town girl from southeast Ireland who gets arranged to go to the United States in hope for a better future. After saying goodbye to her family, she is off to Brooklyn, New York where it is home to many Irish immigrants. When she first arrives in Brooklyn, she gets sent to live in a Irish boarding house and every night, the landlady, Madge Kehoe (Julie Walters) eats supper with her fellow residents.

Ellis also has a job at a department store but she is difficult with interacting with customers. She is often shy and quiet around them, that's when Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) comes in. After enrolling her in bookkeeping classes, Ellis' homesickness begins to evaporate and when she shows up to a dance, she meets an Italian man named Tony (Emory Cohen). They quickly start to know each other and they begin to fall in love.

Just as Ellis was settling in, tragedy strikes when her sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott) dies from a undisclosed illness. Unable to cope with the loss of her sister, Ellis decides to fly back to Ireland for a visit. When she arrives back home, strange complications occur, her best friend is getting married and she meets an attractive man (Domhnall Gleeson) who hopes to catch her attention.

There is no doubt in my mind "Brooklyn" will snag a few Oscar nominations. Saoirse Ronan (who first got Hollywood's attention when she got an Oscar nomination for "Atonement" at just 12 years old) gives an emotionally triumphant performance as an Irish immigrant who hopes to seek a better future in America. Emory Cohen is also brilliant as the Italian who catches Lacey's heart. "Brooklyn" is a genuinely moving film from director John Crowley (Is Anybody There? and Closed Circuit).

It is also beautifully written by the great Nick Hornby who also wrote "An Education", "Wild", "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy". This film is a terrific adaptation of Colm Toibin's 2009 prize-winning novel. "Brooklyn" will win over your heart.