Brooklyn

Brooklyn (2015)

98% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 216 reviews)

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed by: John Crowley

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Julia Walters

From: Several different companies

At the end of March I'll post a link to my Letterboxd link of all the foreign films I review for March... and late February, as I put this on there also. My Letterboxd review of this movie is below: 

Note 1: I am starting my March Around the World 2016 now instead of March 1 as this fits for that list. I always enjoy devoting a month to mainly watching foreign movies; it's fun to see what other people's lists are and I like checking out things from foreign countries not really known for their film scene, although anything foreign is up for inclusion.

Note 2: I did not go last year but back in 2014 I attended the all-day screening at AMC Theatres (this is done at various locations across the country) where one Saturday in late February they show half of the Best Picture Oscar nominees and the next Saturday they show the other half. What I saw in '14 was Nebraska, Captain Phillips-still my most popular review-Her, American Hustle, and Gravity for the second time. Later today I'll post the second review and tomorrow I'll post the last two reviews.

Normally, I wouldn't watch this sort of movie. Romantic dramas aren't really my scene. Yet, I am glad I was able to see this on the big screen, as I surprisingly enjoyed it a lot. It's not the most inventive plot: a young Irish girl named Eilis emigrates to Brooklyn, New York in the 1950's from her homeland of Ireland; that's what her family wanted her to do. She is a shy homesick girl at first. However, things change and a big reason is that she and a boy fall in love. However, a tragic event happens and that changes things; she goes back to Ireland and meets another boy, played by Domhnall Gleeson; he had quite the 2015, that is for sure.

There are humorous moments throughout (especially in the boardinghouse she lives in, w/ some of the other girls that lives there and the head of the boardinghouse, played by Julie Walters) and it's a nice pleasant film, but there are also various sad moments throughout, and those that easily get teary-eyed, the waterworks will flow at least once of twice. Aside from a stereotypically mean old woman, all the characters and nice and realistic. Both of her potential love interests seem to be good men in their own ways.

While I have known who Saoirse Ronan is for a long time now, I actually haven't seen any of her movies. That's just how it has worked out. I now know that I have made a mistake in not looking at her filmography. It has nothing to do with her being a pretty girl and I am not swooning over her now; rather, she did a fantastic job in the role as Eilis, and I should look at what she's done in the past as she appears to have the talent to be a big star in the future. She has to change from being a shy awkward girl to a more confident person and she has to go through a range of emotion. The cast as a whole does a nice job playing likable characters all around (this is the first time I had seen Emory Cohen; he did a swell job and I'd like to see him in more films), but it was Ms. Ronan who was a standout and I was not surprised she got a Best Actress nomination. You feel bad for her as she does poorly/is mistreated early on and you're glad when things improve for her.

Even I am surprised I enjoyed this sappy weapy picture as much as I did but besides the acting and the charming story, it is made very well when it comes to such aspects as cinematography and score; the look and feel of 1950's Ireland and New York City-two greatly different worlds but both possessing good folk-is also captured perfectly. Simply, I was captivated by both Ms. Ronan and this movie.