Review of Brooklyn (2015) by Mateus V — 08 Feb 2016

Saoirse Ronan plays Eilis Lacey, an Irish girl who becomes an American immigrant in 1950's Brooklyn. She grows up in a small town and has her immigration arranged for her by the church. Once in America, she finds her way, slowly, and eventually falls in love with a local Italian boy. When her sister suddenly dies, she goes back to Ireland to visit her mother, but not before she secretly weds her lover. Once back in Ireland, she adjusts easily to her old life, maybe even a little too much, until an unlikely outsider shakes the grounds of her Irish foundation.

This movie tells the tale of two worlds colliding, of haunting pasts and making your own future. It's based on a novel by Colm Tóibín and if reviews of his book are accurate, much of the world he created was translated beautifully to the big screen. Ronan's performance is the kind that makes or breaks a movie like this and in this case it makes it. She believably changes from a naive and homesick immigrant into a self-assured young woman. The rest of the cast is excellent as well, with some of the movie's best and genuinely funny scenes at the boarding house for Irish immigrant girls.

Brooklyn is simply a beautifully told and well-paced period piece that fits on every level. The world is believeable, all characters are fleshed out, even to the tiniest roles and best of all, it never gets boring.

Pros: beautifully told,.

Cons: none, really.

Verdict: go see!