Brooklyn.

                               Brooklyn  Film Review.

                 "Two countries, two loves, one heart."

Brooklyn was based on the 2009 novel by Colm Toibin set around the early 1950s. The plot revolves around the idea of a young Irish girl, Eilis Lacey who leaves Enniscorthy in south-east Ireland for New York searching for a better life.

She worked in a shop at weekends for a Miss Kelly, nicknamed Nettles Kelly, a woman who overcharged for stale bread and relished  humiliating her customers and staff. Her sister Rose wrote to Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) in Brooklyn who arranges for Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) to have a better future.

"She doesn't want to be trapped in the humdrum cycle of existence that seems to be inevitable at home." (Clark Douglas who awarded the film 4 out of 4 stars)

 She gets a job at a department store, Bartocci's, but Eilis lacks confidence and her innate shyness make it difficult for her to interact with the customers. This leads to criticism by her supervisor Miss Fortini.

Seasickness during the lengthy voyage turns into homesickness, alienation  and loneliness as an immigrant in a foreign country once she arrives. She is warned it will be tough and yet in a short space of time, she is able to offer similar advice to another immigrant attempting the journey:

"You'll feel so homesick that you'll want to die, and there's nothing you can do about it apart from endure it. But you will, and it won't kill you." Words of hope.
"You'll catch yourself thinking about something or someone who has no connection with the past, someone who's only yours, and you'll realize that this is where your life is."

We are told she resembled Paddington Bear in the way she looked forlorn by Geoffrey Macnab (The Independent). However, it doesn't take long before  she blossoms and exudes confidence. Father Flood enrols her in a book keeping course at Brooklyn College which she passes with honours determined to be an accountant like her sister Rose.

At a dance she meets Tony Fiorello, an Italian plumber who lives with his family in a poor Brooklyn neighbourhood. He has aspirations to launch a suburban home-building business with his family on Long Island. He becomes besotted with our heroine and behaves like the perfect gentleman. Tim Robey (The Telegraph) refers to the tingling chemistry between them: "the kind of old-fashioned, shivers-down-the-spine serendipity that's hushed and special, and can't be taught." The story is based on a love triangle between Eilis, Tony(Emony Cohen) and Jim Farrell. When Tony expresses his love for Eilis there is an awkward moment when she is unable to respond, although in time, she is able to tell him that she loves him too.

 A tragedy occurs forcing her to return to Ireland and she reappraises her life in New York comparing it to how her  life could be in Ireland if she remained, aware of new developments at home that would satisfy her. This is where Jim fits in. "Two countries, two loves." It's a tough decision for her to make but she follows her heart and makes the right decision.

"Brooklyn is a heartfelt portrait of America as a land of hope and dreams, and it makes our current resistance of that identity all the more heartbreaking to recognise." (Clark Douglas)

Colm Toibin was born in County Wexford.  He based his character Eilis Lacey in Enniscorthy for a deliberate reason. The actress Saoirse Ronan was born in the Bronx to Irish parents who had made the same journey in the 1980s although the Ronans returned to Ireland two years after the birth of their daughter. They wanted to be closer to family. Saoirse was eight when she was cast alongside her father, Paul.
Most of the Brooklyn scenes were filmed in Montreal to create authentic 50s buildings. Three weeks filming in Ireland, four in Montreal and just two days in Brooklyn, one of them on Coney Island, where Tony takes Eilis to celebrate her graduation. Toibin has a small cameo role in the movie as an immigrant in Brooklyn.

The film was directed by John Crowley and written by John Hornby. It was nominated for 3 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film.
The film was well-received by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it gained a 97% rating. "Brooklyn buttresses outstanding performances from Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen with a rich period drama that tugs at the heartstrings as it satisfies the mind."

The film was featured on BBC's the 21st Century of 100 greatest films, ranking 48th on the list. The BBc is working on a t.v. spin-off revolving around Mrs Kehoe played by Julie Walters who brings her usual wry, deadpan humour to avoid too much sentimentality.

REVIEW it by Carol Naylor. 

Copyright December 2016. Permission must be obtained from the writer before any of this article review is reproduced.