Rating: A-
From the female powerhouse team that brought you “An Education” in 2009, Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey’s most recent film “Brooklyn” tells the similar coming-of-age story of a young Irish girl named Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan). The age-old saying “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” seems to ring true for this producer duo, as “Brooklyn” received exactly the same Oscar nominations as their first film did.
Posey’s husband and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Nick Hornby (“An Education,” “Wild”) succeeded in handling the acclaimed content of the novel off which the film is based, despite having to deviate and abbreviate. “Brooklyn” (2009), written by Colm Tóibín, won the Costa Novel Award and was named one of the “10 best historical novels” by “The Observer.” The book’s structure for its heroine Eilis was in part inspired by the introspective female protagonists of Jane Austen novels, according to Tolbin.
Set in the 1950s, the film maintains a controlled passion that seems appropriate to the time period but has a constant level of raw, authentic emotion in which audiences will be easily swept up. First love, homesickness and fear of the unknown are but a part of the emotional journey Eilis works through as she leaves behind her family and friends in Ireland and travels alone to a new life in the United States.
The trans-Atlantic move of her character was also etched into Ronan’s own life story, as she was born in the Bronx but raised in Ireland. The role of Eilis held a strong, sentimental value for the young actress, who was able to use her native accent for the first time on screen. The added layer of immigration hardships, on top of her innocent but transparent depiction of a girl transitioning into both a woman and an adult, earned Ronan her well-deserved second Oscar nomination.
In America, Eilis’s home is an all-girl Irish immigrant boarding house owned by the opinionated Mrs. Keogh, played by the ever-reliable Julie Walters (“Educating Rita,” “Billy Elliot”) who delivers a humorous, matronly performance that brings to mind her beloved role of Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter films. Every night, the girls are required to attend sit-down dinners, which are full of lively, playful banter thanks to the entertaining, spirited other boarders.
However, “spirited” is not the appropriate adjective for Eilis at this point in the film, who is having trouble adjusting to life in America. The severity of her homesickness prevents her from being able to work her new job. She wonders if she’ll ever stop wanting “to be an Irish girl in Ireland” and confides in her only correspondent before arriving in America, Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), a priest at the church where Eilis meets the charming and handsome Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen) at an Irish dance. As his name suggests, Tony is Italian, and admits that he went to the dance because he “really likes Irish girls.” His adorable demeanor captures your heart about as quickly as Eilis captures his.
The cinematography navigates the two lovebirds through a colorful production design of 1950s New York that makes one wish for a time machine to visit this romanticized and almost dreamlike place. The innocence of their relationship lands somewhere just beyond a courtship, and as things progress, Tony is barely able to vocalize his desire to take the relationship to the next level: inviting Eilis to eat dinner with his family.
An amusing scene of the girls in the boarding house giving Eilis pasta-eating lessons ensues, and a prepped but nervous Eilis dines with Tony’s loud, Italian family, including his uncensored 8-year-old brother, Frankie, (James DiGiacomo) who becomes the scene-stealer.
With Tony in her life, Eilis finds her footing and begins to fully embrace life in Brooklyn, including enrolling in night classes and finding happiness at work.
Only the hardship that befalls her family could bring Eilis to return to Ireland, unaware of the trial she would find there. A friendship blossoms between her and a local boy named Jim (Domhall Gleeson), whose familiarity causes Eilis to question her relationship with Tony and her happiness in Brooklyn. She finds herself in a love triangle that forces her to not only choose between two different men but also between two countries, which are now both special to Eilis.
“Brooklyn” provides a pleasant and satisfying movie experience, but lacks the level of conflict and superior category execution to walk away with any hardware from this year’s Oscars.
