Rating: B+
Walking into this particular cinema screening, I carried with me a genuine lack of preconceptions and expectations around Brooklyn, a period drama centred around the experiences of a twenty-something Irish girl Eilis Lacey. And while the movie was largely enjoyable and engaging (oftentimes tearjerking), it ultimately failed to present anything new or remarkable, amongst a sea of blockbusting awards-season creations (think the Revenant, Spotlight, Room).
Don’t get me wrong, it was a very well put together piece of cinema, the attention to detail of not only 1950’s Brooklyn, but also Enniscorthy, County Wexford in southeast Ireland where Eilis begins her journey, is fantastic. The characterisation of both Eilis and her supporting cast comprehensively draws you in from minute one. On top of that, the script and dialogue is both humourous and emotional, without being long winded, and the understatedness of Eilis herself makes it an even more relatable story.
The really enjoyable sequences of the film take place in Eilis’ boarding house, where the psuedo-Matriarch Mrs. Keough (a very funny Julie Walters), battles to maintain order amongst the six young boarder girls. They constantly chatter, gossip and giggle through tea, cleverly embedding further layers to the setting and period, and reinforcing ideas like attending the ‘Saturday dance’ as somewhat of a rite of passage.
Tying the body of the film together is the love story between Eilish and her charming suitor, Tony. Their developing romance is bizzarrely fascinating in it’s ordinariness, as the two go on a series of rather sweet yet pedestrian dates, with Tony picking Eilis up and walking her home every night after school. The audience falls as much in love with Tony as Eilish does, which makes the film’s ultimate climax somewhat strange, as Eilish finds herself having to make a fairly pivotal life decision around love, life and ambition.
Despite this largely positive review of Brooklyn, as I mentioned above, it left a fairly passive and unispired impression on me upon leaving the cinema. If nothing else, the film is at its heart a fatastically dramatic love story, and that definitely ticks the box for a relaxing weekend watch.