Review of Brooklyn (2015) by Joel M — 15 Feb 2016

**** Good.

In the immortal words of the Beastie Boys, I got no sleep til "Brooklyn" was the last film I watched of the eight movies nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. So maybe I'm exaggerating, I did get some sleep, but nevertheless I think you should awaken yourself to the little tender movie that is "Brooklyn". The film stars a splendid Saoirse Ronan as young Irish Eilis, who flees from her Ireland home to Eilis Island, I mean Ellis Island (or close enough) to Brooklyn to start a new life. She gets homesick at first but then meets a young Italian named Tony who is struck by Eilis from the onset. But then tragedy occurs back in Ireland and Eilis must return home and stray from Tony. There she meets Irish Jim Farrrell (whose brother Colin has been in lots of movies). OK, I am kidding! Colin is not your Farrelll, Jim!. Anyways, Eilis takes a mini liking to Jim, but has not forgotten her Tony. So to put it in a new order, this becomes some sort of non-bizarre Irish-Italian love triangle. Director John Crowley did a fine job in developing "Brooklyn" without inserting any extravagant shenanigans; he kept it simple but not-stupid. Nick Hornby's Oscar-nominated screenplay was sweet but not resounding enough for it to warrant Oscar gold. Ronan atoned herself with a great performance in "Brooklyn" after some mediocre work after her Oscar-nominated work as a tween in "Atonement". As for the rest of the cast, the only one that stood out in the "Brooklyn" thespian crowd was that of Julie Walters as Mrs. Keogh, the matriarch of the boarding house Eilis stayed in Brooklyn. OK, my pun ferry ride to "Brooklyn" is over. Now it's your turn to go Eilis and watch this flick.