What a vastly beautiful, rich, and peaceful film this is. What an incredibly acted, impeccably written, greatly structured movie this is. What a perfect little 105 minute package this is. There’s not much else to be said about it other than to elaborate. Brooklyn is so effortlessly good that you have to see it to believe it. But believe it I did. Brooklyn is about an Irish girl named Ellis (played by Saoirse Ronan) who leaves for America in the 1950’s and finds love, but is rushed back to Ireland after a tragedy. She then has to choose whether to stay in her country or go back to America where her other life is. If that sounds melodramatic that’s because it is, but the film’s screenplay written by Nick Hornby is too smart for that to matter. The film’s excellent structure allows the film to very subtly spoon these emotions to you instead of making you take it all at face value. Sure, that makes the film feel unable to muster an overwhelming emotional moment, but it also allows it to spread that emotion out over the film slowly spooning it to you. This keeps the entire enterprise interesting, and this combined with the somewhat nostalgic sense of family, and the history of Brooklyn (seriously the nostalgic power of the history of the place is showcased in one scene, and the scene is heartbreaking) give the film a peaceful, but happy/melancholic feel that is absolutely mystifying. And the actors are wonderful too. They’re selling melodramatic material, but they’re all so good in their roles that the material seems transcended to the point that it’s not anymore. They’re so graceful. Saoirse Ronan is as Ellis. She has a sensitivity to her performance that you can see in her eyes. It’s a spectacular performance, but she’s not the only one holding the film together. There’s an excellent cast surrounding her, and they each get their moments. These are heavyweights like Domhnall Gleeson (so good in Ex Machina), and Jim Broadbent. These guys have proved their talent, and it’s on full display. Relative newcomer Emory Cohen absolutely lights up the screen as Tony, Ellis’s love interest. I have rarely seen such a charming, and humanity affirming character and cast. The film just keeps going from beautiful people to beautiful cinematography, to beautiful moment. It just never stops, and then in the most excellent way it ends releasing all the emotion it has pent up. Brooklyn is a must see. I give Brooklyn a 10 out of 10. REVIEW BY STEPHEN TRONICEK
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |