Non-spoiler review.
by Sonali Dutta.
Adapted from Colm Tóibín’s 2009 novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, Brooklyn depicts the journey of a young Irish girl Éilis Lacey (played impeccably by Saoirse Ronan) who moves to New York on her own. At the start of the film, Éilis is living in a small town in County Wexford with her mother (Jane Brennan) and older sister (Fiona Glascott). There is little opportunity here beyond working part time in a local shop for an awful boss. So, somewhat reluctantly, Éilis moves to Brooklyn, New York to take a job and to make a better life as arranged by her sister. John Crowley directs an excellent cast in this beautifully made film.
Photograph by Lionsgate
Initially, Éilis has a hard time adjusting to living and working abroad. The ship crossing over is less than comfortable in steerage. On arriving to America, she is transported into a boarding house for Irish girls run by the strict Mrs Kehoe (Julie Walters) whilst working at the Bartocci department store. There is a real sense of loneliness, dislike of change and homesickness in the first part of the film. Letters to and from Ireland intercut the narrative, also giving us the perspective of Rose and Mrs Lacey back in Ireland. The camera often focuses closely on Ronan’s face, giving us a sense of intimacy with her character. Her portrayal of Éilis is nuanced and understated: there are no gratuitous and big shows of angst or pain. There is also a powerful shot where Éilis is waiting at a traffic light amidst a large crowd; simultaneously surrounded by people yet alone.
That’s not to say that the film is perpetually sad in tone or tragic. There are many light-hearted and funny moments (particularly from Walters as she berates her boarders). Despite Éilis’s isolation at the film’s beginning, she does seem to have a strong support network through Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) who helped her secure her job, the girls at the boarding house and her colleagues in the department store. There are no scheming colleagues and whilst the girls are the boarding house are gossipy, they are not spiteful. There is one funny scene where two of the girls teach Éilis how to properly eat spaghetti.
Photograph by PR/Kerry Brown/Fox Searchlight/AP
The turning point is when Éilis meets Italian-American Tony (Emory Cohen) at a local dance. Although Éilis is somewhat reticent, we watch their sweet romance develop as Tony is persistent and romantic. Cohen plays Tony with effortlessly as open and suave. Éilis relationship with Tony helps her settle in well into life in America. However, a tragedy in Ireland means that Éilis must return home. She returns to home which offers a very different (but equally enticing) life to the one she had in America. As Éilis spends more time in Ireland, she reconnects with her old life seamlessly and keeps deferring her return to America. She starts a romance with Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) who is the catch of the town.
Photograph by Allstar/Lionsgate
Brooklyn’s central conflict is if Éilis stays in Ireland or returns to New York (and Tony). The storyline is simple, straightforward and all the more charming for it. Éilis has one pivotal choice in the film that the plot hinges on which is explored and executed beautifully. The film does not judge her choice and feelings, and neither do we. Instead the audience is drawn into the difficulties of choosing two opposing paths. It is not a simple or obvious choice, as Ireland and Jim Farrell seems as good a choice as America and Tony. Each situation has its own merits and drawbacks, and we feel Éilis’s divided loyalties keenly.
Photograph by Allstar/Lionsgate
The film is shot beautifully. The use of colour (green especially) is used subtly and effectively. New York and Ireland seem almost differentiated by colour. Whilst County Wexford seems sombre and traditional in darker and plainer shades, faster-paced New York in contrast pops with a variety of bright colours. Éilis is often wearing green clothes (reminiscent of rural Ireland in urban New York perhaps?). As she becomes more confident in America, she wears brighter and more patterned clothing. It’s an interesting image again when she wears the vivid colours of New York on her return to Ireland, showing that she has changed.
Brooklyn is a subtly moving and powerful film about the experience of immigration. It explores the pain of leaving a home to plant new roots somewhere else – and then the difficult of returning. Ronan plays Éilis perfectly, as if the part was made for her, which alone makes the film worth watching.
Brooklyn was released in cinemas on Friday 6 November 2015.
Teaspoon of Sunshine 