Irish Faith

Brooklyn

Growing up can a very difficult thing. For most of us, we grow up and move away from home into the real world. A lot of us that move out, move close to home or our parents. However, there was a time when people moved oceans away from their families to start their lives. Most of those people came here to America, the land of opportunity. This year a surprise hit of a film tackles that exact subject of moving away and starting your life in a foreign land. Fox Searchlight Pictures presents a heartwarming tale of one woman’s journey to Brooklyn.

Brooklyn is set in the early 1950’s Ireland and is centered around a young woman by the name of Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan The Grand Budapest Hotel). Eilis, with the help of her sister Rose (Fiona Glascott), has arranged voyage to America to better her life. In America, Eilis learns a lot about life and most importantly, about love. Eilis meets a young Italian boy, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen The Gambler) and quickly falls in love. After time, however, Eilis must choose the Irish life she left behind or the American life that is right in front of her.

With beautiful cinematography and a sweet little story, Brooklyn is an endearing story of the life we create. I really loved the way this story is filled with ‘leap of faith’ moments that seem to follow Eilis around and how the film inspires us to take those leaps and not to be afraid of the outcome. This film is definitely a hidden gem among many other great movies that were release this last quarter of 2015.

Ronan takes the audience on an amazing journey and does a magnificent job at it. The inner fear mixed with the inner strength is so wonderfully showcased by Ronan that the character Eilis becomes a very relatable character for the audience. For someone with her resume of films, Ronan is going to be a name that we need to remember and sit back at watch the greatness that is going to be produced by her acting.

Director John Crowley (Intermission) and Cinematographer  Yves Bélanger (Dallas Buyers Club) gives us a beautiful picture. The entire film was so aesthetically pleasing that it really sets the audience at ease.  Crowley masterfully puts Nick Hornby’s script to life by capturing the innocence of his main character and giving her strength through her transition.

I really wish that I could elaborate a lot more on some of these good points, but this film is so simple that I really can’t. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the film was good but there is nothing really to it. Very straight forward story that doesn’t deviate at all from the main plot of the story. My only grip comes from fellow critics. They over play this film, with one calling it one of the most romantic movies ever. I very much disagree with this. The story isn’t a love story, but more of a coming-of-age story.

I did really like this film and the message that is incorporated in Brooklyn. This is a simple, yet majestic film that is great of a free Saturday night, cuddling up with a  loved one. If you don’t expect too much from the film you will not be disappointed by it.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time.