Brooklyn (2015) (English Language)

Review

112min

Genre:      Drama, Romance

Director:   John Crowley

Cast:        Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson…and more

Writers:    Nick Hornby and Colm Tóibín

-Synopsis-

Anglo/Irish period drama starring Saoirse Ronan as “Eilis”, a young Irish immigrant in 1950s New York who’s torn between two lives and two countries separated by a vast ocean, a heart-splitting romance adapted by Nick Hornby from Colm Tóibín’s award-winning novel.

Aided by award-winning source material and a celebrated writer to adapt it, director John Crowley weaves a measured but touching drama set in the early 1950s, where a young Irish lady is torn between the two opposing worlds of rural Ireland and most urban New York city. ‘Brooklyn’ is a charming and beautifully rendered, if heavily rose-tinted, immigrant story that strikes the timeless chord of being stuck between two cultures.

There’s no doubt that this is a love story, but that’s only one of the push/pull factors between two lives separated by more than the Atlantic ocean.

‘Brooklyn’ is really a story about belonging and the idea of home, with homesickness, loss, guilt, duty, romance and self-actualization all dragging Eilis’ heart in several directions, beautifully captured by a nuanced central performance from Saoirse Ronan, which holds the film together brilliantly.

John Crowley’s period piece has been rightly praised for its classic and classy tone, and for the measured narrative which makes ‘Brooklyn’ a period drama that lacks melodrama, a big plus for us. The costume design is first class and the pastel colours are as rich as the cinematography, pristine visuals all around, perhaps too pristine.

Despite Eilis’ great voyage of discovery across the ocean, ‘Brooklyn’ has a narrowly focused narrative which depicts her worlds rather naively and fancifully. Ireland has seldom looked greener and more immaculate with not a boisterous Irishman or sense of earthiness to be found, while 1950s New York looks like a whitewashed postcard of a far grittier and grimier post-war Brooklyn reality.

Despite solid performances from Emory Cohen and Domhnall Gleeson as Eilis’ “suitors”, there isn’t much balance of emotional attachment between the countries and ultimately her final decision is less heart wrenching and more straightforward than we’d hope for.

Nevertheless the performances in ‘Brooklyn’ are accomplished and the narrative engrossing enough to serve a gracefully executed and touching period drama with plenty of charm and humour, thanks in no small part to Julie Walters’ acid tongued governess.

The Bottom Line…

Despite a slight lack of edge and sanitized world view, ‘Brooklyn’ is a beautifully crafted and moving period drama about belonging which is measured enough to never descend into melodrama, and is driven by accomplished acting led by an outstanding central performance from Saoirse Ronan.

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