Review: Brooklyn

Director John Crowley brings us BROOKLYN, the 1950s period piece adapted from Colm Tóibín's novel about an Irish immigrant settling into America.

Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) is making the move from Ireland to America. Her sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott) has put in a good word with a priest in Brooklyn, resigning herself to staying in Ireland while Eilis makes a life for herself. But while Eilis seems to have nothing of a future in Ireland -- working a miserable job, scraping by with her money, with no romance to speak of -- leaving her mother and sister behind is the most difficult thing she has ever done.

As Eilis takes the boat to America and begins to settle into her new environment, living in a boarding house and working at Bartocci's, she realizes just how much, in fact, she misses her old home -- "I wish that I could stop feeling like I want to be an Irish girl in Ireland," she states early on. But as luck would have it, Eilis meets a man; Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen), a young Italian man who professes he likes Irish girls, and whose earnest and humble nature charm Eilis instantly. Suddenly Brooklyn doesn't seem so bad. Their romance becomes the guiding light for Eilis, as she overcomes her homesickness... until a family emergency happens that calls Eilis back to Ireland, causing her to choose between her two places of identity.

Visually, the film is stunning, with its 50s period costume and the attention to detail that is given in the disparity between Eilis' two worlds. And while the cast deserves credit where credit is due -- Ronan carries the film with the emotion she brings to the scenes, and Cohen and Domhnall Gleeson (who plays a love interest in Ireland) make easy work of Eilis' contrasting lovers -- still, the story leaves much to be desired. For a near Mary Sue of a character, a little more motivation is needed for some of her decisions; otherwise, Eilis' actions only prove to be a necessary device to push the plot forward. This loss of character development spoils any true feeling of empathy for the events that occur, save for the family emergency that calls Eilis back to Ireland.

Nevertheless, the film's intent still comes through -- the idea of home, that sense of belonging that propels you through life, is still heard, crystal clear. For Eilis, at least, there is one strong dose of truth in that garnering this sense of belonging required a certain amount of growth and self discovery; and though it may not be 100% warranted on the screen, it is an idea to mull over after the credits are rolling, especially during this holiday season. BROOKLYN is now playing at the Midtown Cinema -- for all its pros and cons, give it a shot and see what you think!