Review: Brooklyn

Small town woes.

Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) is a young woman from Ireland who is moving to Brooklyn after her sister Rose (Fiona Glasscot) has arraigned passage for her. Eilis is good with figures, but for some reason can't land a job outside of working for a terrible woman at a grocery store. Rose thinks she'll have a better life in Brooklyn. While Eilis has a hard time at first, she meets Tony, (Emery Cohen)an Italian boy who falls in love with. When a tragedy causes her to go back to Ireland for a month long visit, she catches the eye of Jim (Domhnall Gleeson) and begins to wonder if maybe she should stay in Ireland.

I read the book last week and the film is a very close adaptation. The only "big" things that stood out was that Eilis no longer has brothers and we don't get the see her meet Jim before she leaves Ireland in the first place. (more on that later) A few other things, like when she went to a baseball game with Tony are said, but not seen.

I love what this film did with color. When Eilis is first leaving Ireland, then heads to New York, it's very dreary with grey tones. The only color that stands out is her green pea coat. Then when things start looking better for her, and when she meets Tony, suddenly things are brighter, the colors more vivid. When she returns to Ireland, even after what's happen the color pallet stays bright, almost like a dream. Like she's seeing Ireland in a different way than she did when she left.

Speaking of dreams, Saoirse Ronan is one in this film. She's brilliant and says so much with just her face. I love Eilis as a character because I felt like I could relate to her. She's very shy, yet quietly a smart ass. She's torn between a few things, but is reasonable and works it out. Ronan really brought out those emotions well. The rest of the cast was perfect compared to the novel. I thought they sugar coated Jim a bit. I wasn't crazy about not having that first meeting with Eilis where he's a total dick. He also gets more time in the film then he did in the book. (At least it felt that way to me) I really loved how Tony, Mrs. Keho and her fellow boarders were portrayed. They were perfect. The end of the film is slightly different then the book, but I actually think it works better and really rounds out this perfect little love story.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: A

Memorable Quote: "Holy shit." - Tony (Emory Cohen)