Brooklyn

Dir: John Crowley

2015

*****

John Crowley's Brooklyn is the perfect adaptation of Colm Toibin's best-selling novel. I suppose I was surprised by this due to the fact that the screenplay was written by Nick Hornby, a writer I'm not particularly fond of, but then again his two previous screenplays (An Education, Wild) have been quite good, so more fool me. Colm Toibin's story is rather simple and totally believable, indeed, this exact situation was more than likely met by many people in the 1950's. Brooklyn really only needed two elements in order to succeed on screen; good visuals and great performances. It has an abundance of both. Saoirse Ronan plays Eilis, a young women who like many other young Irish men and women, moved to the United States for the prospect of better work and more opportunity, Brooklyn being the place most would settle. Homesick and ravaged by the guilt of leaving her sister and mother, she soon gets used to life in America, especially when she meets a young Italian plumber called Tony. Things take a turn for the worst when tragedy sees her forced to return home, putting in to question where her future belongs. It's a remarkably simple but astute look at personal and cultural identity and the difference between selflessness and selfishness. Saoirse Ronan speaks volumes without uttering a single word, her award nominations and praise for her performance are greatly deserved. She is supported brilliantly by her two would be lovers, Emory Cohen as Tony and Domhnall Gleeson as Jim, two actors who are very much on the path to greatness. Jim Broadbent plays Father Flood, Eilis's link between the new and old country and Julie Walters plays Madge Kehoe, her Irish landlady in Brooklyn. It seem to be an unwritten rule that both Broadbent and Walters have to appear in every British film that is intended to have international appeal but to be fair both of them are very good in their supporting roles. Indeed, Julie Walters' character is even getting her own TV series spin-off. And before anyone points it out, yes, it is an Irish based film but it is made by the BBC and BFI. The conclusion of the story is uplifting and heart-breaking at the same time, a difficult balance to achieve. It's a rather poignant film for 2015, whereby the issue of immigration is at the forefront of current events. America, as well as many other western countries, was built on immigration but many these days seem to have forgotten as such. There is a very touching scene whereby Eilis assists Father Flood in feeding the poor Irish immigrants who are sleeping rough at Christmas. It is pointed out that many were the original Irish immigrants who came over nearly fifty years previous to build many of New York's famous tunnels and bridges and yet have nothing to show for it. If that scene doesn't pull at the heartstrings then there is something very wrong with you. A great film, touching but never over sentimental and pretty much faultless.