You haven't seen Brooklyn yet???

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           Brooklyn is a beautiful and moving story about a young girl moving from Ireland to Brooklyn in the early 1950's. She has a mediocre and unsatisfying life in Ireland working in a local bakery and feeling the urge to explore new things in her early 20's. This is particularly tough for her mother and older sister, Rose. But, they support her because they know she has so much potential and they respect her youth. Also, that was apparently a difficult economic time in Ireland.
     Once in Brooklyn, Eilis Lacey (played by Saoirse Ronan in an Oscar nominated performance) suffers homesickness and struggles to connect with anyone around her. It isn't long, though, until meaningful and fun friendships and relationships begin to form.

     The striking thing about Brooklyn is that it has a certain elegance. The writing, editing, and gorgeous pastel landscapes drew me into a bygone era. It was a wonderful feeling of being totally absorbed in a movie and forgetting that I was sitting in a movie theater. That's very rare. Have you ever read a compelling or incredible novel that totally takes your mind where the story goes? That's what Brooklyn did for me. The characters are rich. The scenes are meaningful and delightfully detailed. The message of youthful confusion and discovery were thought-provoking. Eilis is a character I was so happy to root for in her journey.

I loved Jim Broadbent as a Priest and Julie Waters plays a sort of house mother who was Oscar worthy in her delightful scene stealing.

I'm also a complete sucker for period pieces. Mad Men is one of my all-time favorite TV shows. There's a certain flavor to Brooklyn that is similar to Mad Men. It's the mid-century clothing styles, dating rituals, American culture, and New York setting that fascinate me. It was smart and beautiful for the writer(s) to set this piece in the 1950's rather than the all-too-casual smartphone saturated 2016. There was a certain quaint romance that the 1950's added to the story. And, while it's dramatic, I never felt like it was overly melodramatic or emotionally schmaltzy. It was an appropriate tone.

Yep, I'm gushing. I can't help it. Brooklyn was such a pleasant surprise that it might be my favorite Best Picture nominee for an Oscar so far!
See it immediately.

Brooklyn is nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Actress (Saoires Ronan), Best Writing (adapted screenplay), Best Picture
   

Comments

  1. Jessie1:16 PM

    Your review is totally on point. I LOVED Brooklyn!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown5:25 AM

    Great review. Loved this movie. I wish it had won Best Picture, but I don't see the Academy ever rewarding such an innocent movie (with the exception of one scene) with Best Picture, at least not in this era. :(

    ReplyDelete

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