Brooklyn 2015

     This film is based on a novel by Colm Toibin and the story takes place in 1951 and 1952.  Eilis Lacey is a young Irish girl of about 20 years old and she doesn’t see much promise for her life in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland.  She receives financial help, some from her sister, to immigrate to Brooklyn, New York.  Her days of passage on the ship are tough and filled with seasickness and doubts about her new life.  She is working as a salesgirl in a retail store and she lives in a boarding house.  The local priest Father Flood and the owner of the boarding school Mrs. Kehoe sponsor classes for her in bookkeeping at Brooklyn College.  Her sister Rose is a bookkeeper and Eilis knows she doesn’t want to spend her life in the store.  She meets Tony, he is an Italian-American plumber and he admires and respects her. 

     This is a very good movie, the story, the acting and the characters.  I liked the hairstyles, clothing and cars of the period plus the social customs.  The ideal life was marriage and children.  4 ½* (I really liked this movie)

111 min, Drama directed by John Crowley with Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Eileen O’Higgins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 97% critic 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 1952 reviews, Metacritic 87 out of 100, 8.0 out of 10 user score.

Special Note:  Filmed in Brooklyn, Coney Island, New York; Dublin, County Wexford, Ireland; Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  Awards received are Academy Award Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Writing, BAFTA Best Actress, AACTA Best Actress, British Independent Best Supporting Actor, BAFTA Best Actress Supporting, BAFTA Best Adapted Screenplay, Golden Globe Best Actress, British Independent Best Screenplay.