Day 97 - Brooklyn



Day 97            Brooklyn [2015]
                          
Screenplay                    Nick Hornby
Based on                       ‘Brooklyn’ by Colm Tóibín
Director                         John Crowley
Cinematography            Yves Bélanger
Music                            Michael Brook
Leads                            Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters
Production                      BBC Films, Telefilm Canada, HanWay Films, Wildgaze Films

IMDb                                 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes                 97%

There is a certain unexplainable magic to the Gaelic countries – Ireland in particular. When traditional Irish music starts playing something stirs deep within me and I feel like running around in the hills and glens. Brooklyn is the story of a young girl who emigrates to New York from a small Irish town in search of a new life. She must then choose between her new life and the old one when she is forced to return home. Ronan is already a powerhouse with incredible performances in Grand Budapest, Atonement, this and Lady Bird. Funnily enough Ronan was born in New York and her family moved to Ireland when she was three, so she is perfectly suited to this role. The supporting cast is a powerful one too. Julie Walters is glorious and funny as ever. Domhnall Gleeson has become a superstar seemingly out of nowhere, he is a fantastic actor and has been smashing it of late with incredible performances in Ex Machina and The Revenant, as well as big roles in American Made (Day 47), Star Wars and Mother!. For once I thought that a film wasn’t long enough. It seems to build to a point where Eilis (Ronan) has to make a decision between the two countries and two men and the movie then ends in about five minutes. I thought they should have made more of this decision. It was a very watchable movie, with shining actors, wonderful set design and cinematography, and also a beautiful sound track. But I’m not sure where all the Academy Award hype originated – it wasn’t that good and serves as yet another caveat for the Academy Awards.

Acting                            3.5 / 4
Writing                           2.5 / 4
Cinematography                3 / 4
Music                                3 / 4
HWF rating                  3 / 4

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