Brooklyn
(2015)Saoirse Ronan (The Grand Budapest Hotel) leads this romance set in the 1950s as Ellis Lacey, a young Irish woman who emigrates to New York in search of a new life. Based on the novel by Colm Tóibín and adapted for the screen by Nick Hornby (An Education, Wild).... More
Her homesickness is alleviated when she is introduced to Italian boy Tony (Emory Cohen, The Place Beyond the Pines). But when Ellis is called back to Ireland, the life she started to build in American begins to fade, and with the advances of charming local Jim (Domhnall Gleeson, Ex Machina), that life may disappear entirely. Hide
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Outstanding British Film winner at the 2016 BAFTA Awards
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Directed by John Crowley
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Julie Walters, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent
Written by Nick Hornby (based on the novel by Colm Tóibín)
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 5 providers
Flicks Review
BY Adam Fresco Flicks Writer
Seeking independence, young Irish woman Ellis (Saoirse Ronan) emigrates to 1950s New York, where she secretly marries. Returning to Ireland to care for her mother, Ellis encounters a new romance, and inner conflict: should she return to her Big Apple husband, or remain with her Irish family and newfound love?... More
Sounds melodramatic? Absolutely. But to criticize a romance for containing melodrama would be like criticizing a musical for featuring songs, or a Tarantino movie for containing violence. Director John Crowley and screenwriter Nick Hornby deftly avoid the pitfalls of mushy romance by focusing on the simple girl-meets-boy(s) plot. Yes, there are those corny old thematic staples of love and family, but Brooklyn dares to ponder what happens if the pursuit of happiness comes at the price of leaving one’s family, home and love.
Alongside Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay nominations, Ronan is in the running for an Oscar. Her superb performance provides a subtle, beating human heart at the core of the melodrama. She’s ably supported by an all round great cast, with an hilarious, if brief, comedy turn courtesy of Julie Waters.
It may lack in budget, but Yves Bélanger's sumptuous photography, Michael Brook’s grand orchestral score, and excellent costumes, sets and locations evoke an epic personal coming-of-age tale. Engaging, entertaining and emotional, Brooklyn is unashamedly old-school. More Merchant Ivory than Mills and Boon, romantic dramas don’t come much better than this tender, thoughtful throwback to the kind of movies your grandparents cuddled up to in the back row all those years ago.Hide
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Brooklyn
BY cinemusefilm superstar
This film is a high-fidelity portrayal of the excitement and fear of Eilis, a young Irish rose drawn to thorny Brooklyn and the American dream. It is a quest of necessity as high unemployment and political instability in 1950s Ireland led to record numbers of young adults migrating to America, many of whom received an anti-Irish welcome that would trap them forever in lower working class lives. After finding love on both sides of the Atlantic, Eilis must choose between two lives and two worlds. It is a beautifully photographed and finely acted historical drama adapted from a novel of the same name. The striking contrast of vibrant Irish hues splashed across the greyness of urban Brooklyn reflects the Irish exuberance that added so much cultural colour to the American palette. The storyline is linear and uncomplicated so the full emotional impact of the film must come entirely from acting and Saoirse Ronan delivers in full. She is expressively understated in the role of Eilis as she rides the emotional roller coaster between beloved Ireland and the promises of the new world. Eilis’s two suitors represent two charmingly different cultural versions of masculinity and are strong support actors for Ronan’s outstanding performance.
One of the film’s strengths is also a weakness as all migrant stories are about homesickness, isolation, struggle and young love, hence there is a certain element of narrative predictability. Although often melodramatic as all love stories are, the film is a collection of smaller moments rather than big events. If it makes you teary, as it did me, then you’ll walk out feeling touched by fine storytelling, excellent acting and a well produced period drama.Hide
BY AggressivePopcorn lister
I almost went into some detail about the plot but you can watch a trailer for that, this movie is a great story with amazing performances. The direction is great and the shots are great and if you are like me and lived overseas for a while you can... More really understand what Eilis was going through. Domhall Gleeson makes an appearance and he was in 4 great movies last year and he seems to either have an amazing agent or a great eye for roles.
Great pacing and story.Hide
BY Booper superstar
I randomly won tickets to this and what a pleasant surprise it ended up being! A beautiful well done film with Domhnall Gleeson as the standout.
BY Marie-Macrae nobody
A good movie that brings back memories of my teenage years. A good romance with a fair ending
BY Brian1 superstar
Not captivating. A gentle old-fashioned love story without any high points.
Showing 5 of 7 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
98%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Without Ronan's performance, Brooklyn might have left a sugary taste. But she is the ingredient that brings everything together: her calm poise anchors almost every scene and every shot. Full Review
Provides the feeling of being lifted into a different world altogether, so transporting is the film’s sense of time and place and social mores. Full Review
As broad as it is charming, Brooklyn is an old-fashioned Sunday afternoon drama told with rare pluck and humor. Full Review
Fills a niche in which the studios once specialized, using a well-read and respected novel as the grounds for a tenderly observed tearjerker. Full Review
Unashamedly romantic and achieved with a beautifully subtle, old-fashioned elegance, it's a graceful coming-of-age tale ripe for awards. Full Review
A triumphant blend of social history and reined-in melodrama. It is meant entirely as a compliment to say that Maeve Binchy would have got on well with it. Full Review
Ms. Ronan uses everything - her posture, her eyebrows, her breath, her teeth, her pores - to convey a process of change that is both seismic and subtle. Full Review
A godsend for audiences who hunger for rich emotion presented with wit, grace and not a trace of sentimentality. Full Review
Colm Tóibín’s bitter-sweet novel of the Irish expat experience brought impeccably to the screen by Crowley and Hornby, with Saoirse Ronan excelling herself in the leaf. Full Review
The film should satisfy those who love the book as well as newcomers. Full Review
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