I can only imagine how difficult, lonesome and melancholic a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean must have been for the numerous immigrants who travelled from Europe to North America – especially those who made the journey before technology and ingenuity made things, for lack of a better word, easy.
This is partially what the Academy Award Best Picture nominee Brooklyn is about. It may not be flashy, controversial or big-budgeted like many of the other selections, but it is a powerful, vintage-style motion picture that will make those of us living on the west of the Atlantic think about what our parents, grandparents or ancestors went through in order to make it to the new world.
Directed by John Crowley and written for the screen by Nick Hornby (author of the novel About A Boy), who adapted Colm Tóibín’s book, the story is set in the 1950s and follows a young woman, Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) – an Irish lass living in a small village where employment is difficult to find. She leaves her sister Rose (Fiona Glascott), mother (Jane Brennan), and homeland behind for New York after being sponsored by Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) in Brooklyn – who has found her work.
The young lady makes the difficult voyage by boat. It is a rather unflattering journey for the naive traveller, but she makes it, partially thanks to the help of a woman who is seasoned in such things. She lives in a boarding house along with a group of gossipy and tactless young women under the watchful eye of a sensible and wise-cracking matriarch named Madge Kehoe (Julie Walters). Much of the first third of the film demonstrates the home-sickness and pain Eilis feels while she is stranded in the asphalt jungle. She is visibly shy, lonely and unhappy in everything she does, including her job in a posh department store, where her boss, Miss Fortini (Jessica Paré), watches over her like a hawk.
All of this changes when Eilis meets Tony (Emory Cohen), a young man from an Italian family who awakens the spirit within the new immigrant. She finally feels as if her soul is starting to makes its way across the Atlantic towards her and the two begin a courtship. She can at last envision a future in this new world which gives her a fresh spring in her step.
Yet, when shocking news arrives from home, she must return to her family. Tony decides to propose to her before she departs for a lengthy amount of time – and they marry immediately.
Back in Ireland, her friend introduces her to the wealthy, charming and very together Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson), who immediately falls for Eilis. Tony fades from her mind as this new man takes her out on numerous excursions. A mixture of guilt and familiarity holds her transfixed to her homeland until a woman from her past makes her realize that there may really be no coming back. Will this jarring conversation lead her to return to Brooklyn, or will she stay in Ireland where both the people and locale seem to be seducing her?
It is hard to put a finger on exactly why Brooklyn works so well. Nick Hornby’s script is simple yet effective, always finding the right tone of melancholic woe or natural laughter. Moments of comedy, such as her roommates teaching Eilis how to eat spaghetti before she has dinner with her Italian boyfriend’s family, or the scene-stealing performance from Tony’s younger brother Frankie (James DiGiacomo), demonstrate Hornby’s deft writer’s touch. A phone call home and letters written between the sisters contain touching moments that produce genuine feelings of forlorn emotion. This, combined with John Crowley’s effective direction makes this film feel like some sort of fairytale from the past – creating a powerful mood that stays with you long after the picture has ended.
One thing that truly accentuates the mood is the impressive use of colour and costumes. Many of the early scenes shot in Ireland and on the ship are in earthy or bland tones. Yet, as her world expands in Brooklyn, it feels like we are looking at a vibrant and exciting new world filled with a wonderful, lively pastiche. Costume designer Odile Dicks-Mireaux dresses Ronan in a beautiful combination of coats, dresses and outfits – making her the centerpiece of the vivacious city. Her red coat, aquamarine bathing suit and colourful dresses catch our eye and draw us into the character.
The powerful mood is also brought forth by the wonderful actors. Ronan once again stands out as a fantastic actress. The film literally hinges on her and she delivers – bringing forth a wide range of emotions (it should be no great shock as she has delivered time and time again in her short but impressive career). Gleeson continues his powerhouse of a year, this time exchanging his nerdish intrigue in Ex-Machina and intense dictatorial performance in the new Star Wars film, for a Rugby playing gent who is smitten with the lovely young woman. Walters brings a nice dose of comedy with her performance and Cohen does an excellent job as the romantic Italian. As mentioned above, Tony’s younger brother Frankie (James DiGiacomo) is an absolute scene-stealer in his few memorable moments.
This may seem like a bizarre comparison, but the novels and films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s famed Middle Earth stories came to mind as I watched Brooklyn. Both Tolkien and Peter Jackson were able to capture the trepidation and pain that is part of leaving home as well as the longing for a return to said place. As those films closed and the heroes returned home, there was also a feeling that things had changed for them and life as it once was, could no longer be recaptured. Though Brooklyn is a very different movie, it also has the same softly poignant cloud that follows our main character as she leaves home and then returns to Ireland.
It is this concoction of melancholy, romance and beauty that can be found in abundance in this 1950s world that fuels this coming of age story, making it a worthy Oscar nominee. All aboard – Brooklyn bound.