Visually similar to the work of Joe Wright and invoking the same tone in its early scenes as a Weinstein Company release, John Crowley's Brooklyn avoids the trappings of the latter because it is written, directed, and performed with a genuine sincerity and likability rarely seen in these awards season period pieces. It lacks forced sentiment, in other words, instead earning its dramatic moments thanks to an excellent cast and a relaxed pace. If the screenplay by Nick Hornby is missing a crucial element, it's that the story never has any deep conflicts. There is internal struggle, to be sure, but it's never difficult to figure out what the outcome will be.
Eilis (a remarkable Saoirse Ronan) is an ambitious young woman in 1950s Ireland who gets on the boat to Brooklyn searching for a brighter future. Set up with a room in a boarding house and a job at a department store, Eilis barely has time to transition into her new life, which proves to be intimidating at first and leads to undeniable homesickness. This doesn't last long thanks to night school and the introduction of Tony (Emory Cohen), an Italian American who spots Eilis at a dance. Tony is kind and hardworking and before long, he and Eilis have fallen in love. Life is blossoming in ways Eilis could only have dreamed of, but this progress is put on hold when she is forced to return to Ireland due to an emergency. A quick trip continues to get stretched, partially by the family that misses her and also by her own desire to reconnect with the homeland.
As mentioned, even when faced with these tough choices, it is always clear which path Eilis will take. Ronan makes the character so relatable and passionate that I found it near impossible to take issue with the predictable turns of the story. We are constantly engaged by her, and it's a tribute to Ronan as an actor that she is able to make us forget the familiarity of the material. Most of the time, movies like this spoon feed the audience so blatantly that I immediately tune out. I wasn't profoundly moved in this case either, but I did admire that Crowley keeps things intimate and gives the characters room to breathe. Instead of everyone on screen getting overshadowed by the need to make the movie a monster sized epic, this is a case where we actually get to experience the characters getting to know each other and soon realize that we kinda like them. Brooklyn is certain to be a crowd pleaser, and while this is a status many movies attain but don't necessarily deserve, here is a welcome exception to the rule.
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(c)Hell and Beyond, 2015
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