BROOKLYN

Brooklyn 2

BROOKLYN is a charming film which balances a motley and very entertaining collection of characters with a lovely, sentimental story. Nick Hornby has come up with a strong screenplay from Colm Toibin’s memorable novel. Director John Crowley delightfully recreates the worlds of Brooklyn and Ireland in the 1950’s.

Saoirse Ronan plays the main character Eilis Lacey, a young lady who leaves Ireland for a job and a new life in Brooklyn. She meets and falls in love with Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen), a young man from an Italian background. Her connections in Ireland still have a gravitational pull and this dilemma provides difficulties for her which she has to resolve. Ronan’s character’s journey is a rich one, starting out as meek and fragile and coming out confident and strong.

There are so many great character in BROOKLYN. Many exude glorious Irish qualities, both good and bad, and this provides rich entertainment.

There are the pretty young girls in Ireland, such as Eilis’ best friend Nancy (Eileen O’Higgins), going to the dance at the church hall to meet the boys from the rugby club. The girls talk disparagingly of the boys with their oiled hair and always matching blazers.

There is the mean, petty and pretentious shopkeeper in Enniscorthy, Miss Lacey (Brid Brennan), who displays all the bad characteristics of a repressed Irish woman.

When Eilis moves to Brooklyn a priest has arranged for her to stay in a boarding house for ladies run by the stern, worldly, droll Madge Kehoe (Julie Walters).  The banter at the dining table provides some of the best entertainment of the film.

There is another dining room scene when Eilis goes to meet Tony’s family, and we are introduced to the delightful workings of an Italian family, with its array of characters; the cheeky youngest brother, the gruff father and the doting mother.

Other characters we meet include the sophisticated Miss Fortini (Jessica Paré), Eilis supervisor in the New York department store, and Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), the kindly Brooklyn priest.

A lovely storyline, wonderful writing, colourful characters, the glorious craic at the boarding house dining room, the brownstones of Brooklyn, the lush green Irish countryside, and the boldness and audacity of the Irish girls blend together to make BROOKLYN excellent, memorable cinema.

BROOKLYN opens in Sydney on Thursday 11th February.