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The story of immigrants has been a staple of the cinema for as long as it has existed, since so many filmmakers themselves have been touched by the experience of coming to the U.S. from another country. Brooklyn, directed by John Crowley and based on the novel by Colm Tóibín, is another addition to that tradition, but a completely unexpected one. It is a film one can’t expect to see in 2015, and yet here it is, still a relevant tale.
Saoirse Ronan stars as Eilis Lacey, a young Irish woman who doesn’t have much prospects in Ireland. Her beloved sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott), helps her get a job in the U.S., specifically Brooklyn, where there is a large Irish population. Even though moving would leave Rose and her mother (Jane Brennan) alone, Eilis takes the boat to the U.S.
Weeks after she arrives, Eilis meets a young Italian named Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen) and they fall in love. But when a tragic event calls Eilis back to Ireland, she has to make a decision. Does she stick with the Old World or her newfound home? Where does she belong?
Brooklyn is the kind of movie that you just don’t expect to see at all. The first half of the film plays out like a blissful, straightforward and happy romance, the type of film Hollywood seems to have left behind in the 1950s. In the second half, Crowley and screenwriter Nick Hornby find a way to create tension within a romantic context. The will she, won’t she context seems cliche, but the film doesn’t fall into soapy conventions.
Brooklyn is set in the 1950s and looks like it was made in the 1950s, with the luscious, color-drenched cinematography from Yves Belanger. But the movie doesn’t play like a Hollywood relic because of the performances. Ronan clearly, eloquently declares herself a leading lady with this film. Her deep blue eyes are easy to fall into, yet she always has something going on beneath the surface. We instantly connect with her plight thanks to a welcoming performance that surely deserves an Oscar nomination.
Everyone else in this film looks like they were destined to make it. The cast is expertly assembled from a group of Irish actors. Jane Brennan plays Eilis’ mother with perfect grace. Julie Walters steals every scene she’s in as the boarding house owner in Brooklyn. (The dinner scenes with her are easily the film’s comic relief, but so well done. It’s fun to see the similarities between those dinners and the dinner at the Fiorello home.) Emory Cohen also deserves some kudos for his perfectly innocent and easy-to-love portrayal of Tony.
Brooklyn is a movie that’s light on its feet and still connects to its audience. Crowley took a simple story that’s actually about people - there’s no conspiracy, no murder, no crime. It is merely about emotions and the connections people feel between one another and their home. Eilis is torn between two worlds, as are so many of us and our families. Most of us search for a balance between old and new traditions and that’s the heart of Brooklyn. The name of the movie might as well have been The United States of America.
Brooklyn hits theaters on Nov. 4. It was reviewed at the Savannah Film Festival, presented by Savannah College of Art and Design.