Review of Brooklyn (2015) by Tjman09 — 28 Nov 2015

In a world where the romantic film seems like such a hard thing to get right, Brooklyn is a great example that it can be done. The romantic film today has become a cliched mess, much like the horror genre, so much so that when one comes along that is genuinely great it’s worth pointing out. Brooklyn is well acted, often funny, and boasts a great story. This film may be best remembered in future years as being Saoirse Ronan’s breakout role as a leading actress.

Lead and anchored by Ronan’s performance, the film fell on her shoulders and she carried the weight gracefully. Ronan’s performance helped make her character, Eilis, feel like a real person, who is scared and alone. As well as making her character feel real, Ronan also had great chemistry with her co-star, and love interest Emory Cohen. Their chemistry shines most though when the characters play off of each other.

The way the two characters play off each other helps give the film a really good sense of humor. Especially the scene when Ronan meets Cohen’s family. All of this aside the plot may be the best part of the film. We as humans need conflict, and recently romantic films have struggled capturing a realistic sense of conflict. Most recent romantic films try to manufacture conflict through an estranged person, getting in the way of the main character, what this film does well is that it makes life get in the way of the main character.

By this I mean that the conflict in this movie is derived from situations all people either have found themselves in, or can relate to making it more realistic. This approach combined with Ronan’s very visual acting style helps sell the conflict, and thus make the film all the more entertaining. Really what Brooklyn does so well is it strips down the romantic genre to a group of core elements and then built a story around it, making the film’s conflict more natural.

By giving the film a simple, yet deep story with a natural conflict that most audience members can relate to Brooklyn succeeds as an original romance film. Lead by the brilliant acting of Saoirse Ronan the film is able to create realistic characters, and eve generate a few laughs. Brooklyn does a great job combining great acting, with realistic characters, in a natural story, that is funny but not sappy, to make a great overall film.