'Brooklyn'

Out now!

It’s the 1950’s and Eilis (Saoirse Ronan), a young girl in Ireland, is all set to make the dramatic move to America in search of a better life, encouraged by her sister who knows there is nothing here for her in the small town where they live. Eilis travels across the ocean arriving in New York to start her new life but she is a nervous mouse of a girl and although this is still the 50’s she soon discovers that the women of America are a far more imposing presence than those of Ireland when she meets the the residents of her boarding house and starts work at a swanky ladies boutique store.

​As Eilis struggles to find her place in this new city she falls in love with Tony and just as her life seems to be coming together a family tragedy draws her back to Ireland and with her newly found confidence finds she fits into her old life much more comfortably. She’s soon fallen back in with her old friends and is now torn between her new life in America with the man she loves and the possibilities of a life in Ireland with her family.

It’s kind of difficult to make this kind of drama sound all that exciting but I want to be clear that 'Brooklyn' is a really good film. It’s every bit as sweet, funny, emotional and even tense as it needs to be, with a real feeling of uneasiness as Eilis is slowly manipulated back into the comforts of her old life in Ireland.

If I have a complaint about the film it’s that it feels a little long, which is especially strange when it comes in comfortably under two hours, but I feel a film like this should feel long, so part of me actually thinks this is a note in the films favour. A story like this deserves an epic feel and managing this in such a short time frame is no small accomplishment. 'Brooklyn' manages to tell a compelling story of character growth that feels completely organic, which is more than the more elaborate fare such as the recent 'Far From The Madding Crowd' was capable of

The Eilis (pronounced eye-lish in case you were wondering) we meet at the beginning of the film is a very different person to the one we have grown to love by the end. Unfortunately there’s only so much I can say about the film, it does what it does really well but whilst I like the film I do have to admit that there isn’t anything special about it. The story isn’t particularly original or meaningful, visually it’s clean but not that interesting, it’s just an extremely competent compelling film.

It’s nice that no element of the film feels superfluous and no character is extraneous, which is an overly wordy way of saying there’s never a dull moment with stand out characters such as Tony’s deliberately rude little brother and Julie Walters boarding house mistress bringing a well polished element of comedy. As I say, no inch is wasted and you really feel for all the characters but the film doesn’t excel in any particular area, it’s just good at everything.

I suppose this film falls short of the highest score for me just because as a necessity these kind of dramas have to get a little caught up in the minutiae of the characters lives a little too long for my taste. I don’t watch a lot of pure drama, but don’t think this isn’t a glowing review! If I liked it then fans of the genre will likely love it.

Review by Kristian Mitchell-Dolby.

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