“Home sickness is like most sickness…it to will pass…”
Director John Crawley brings the epic tale portrayed in Colm Tolbin’s novel to life ~ as a young Irish girl makes the epic journey across the seas to start a new life ~ and finds more than she ever dreamed possible…THIS IS BROOKLYN!!
With little to no prospects of a future down the pike, the young and beautiful Eilis (Saorise Ronan) decides that her best bet is to leave her mother in the care of her loving sister Rose (Fiona Glasscott) and to head off to America to seek a better life in a city called BROOKLYN.
Held up in a woman’s boarding house and working a cosmetics counter at a local Dept. Store, Eilis finds that she may have bitten off more than she can chew, as she longs for her family, and the place she calls HOME.
Trying to adjust as best she can, she joins her roommates at an Irish Catholic Dance, hoping to find some cheer and enjoyment, instead of her longing to return home.
As luck would have it, she meets a sweet and kind Italian lad named Tony (Emory Cohen) at the dance, and he is very smitten to say the least…
When news arrives that her sister Rose has left this good earth way too soon, it seems that her new relationship, and life in American will have to wait for a while. Eilis heads back to Ireland to console her mother, only to find that Ireland is filled with lots of new and exciting prospects, including a new suitor who has taken a fancy to her named Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson). Torn between her Italian love interest back in the states, and her new Irishman at home, Eilise must decide if her future lies at home in Ireland…or if it is waiting for her back in BROOKLYN…
I give BROOKLYN a rating of MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN: This film brings to life the classic era of the 1950’s ~ and it’s classic film making too ~ as you will be blown away by each and every frame that graces the screen. Make no mistake about it, BROOKLYN is one of the finest films I have had the opportunity to view all year. Ronan’s portrayal of Eilise is captivating, mesmerizing and everything in between…and Cohen and Gleeson’s portrayal as her love interests are played out with sheer perfection too! And talk about SUPERIOR STORYLINES and CINEMATOGRAPHY ~ BROOKLYN should be getting nods for these as well, as I haven’t seen such a masterfully crafted film in quite some time. This if by far ONE of the BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR ~ so if you enjoy nothing more than seeing epic love stories, told in the grace and style of days gone by, then check out BROOKLYN…you’ll be glad you did 😉
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 