In 1950s Ireland and New York, young Eilis Lacey has to choose between two men and two countries.
Unashamedly romantic and achieved with a beautifully subtle, old-fashioned elegance, it’s a graceful coming-of-age tale ripe for awards.
Colm Tóibín’s bitter-sweet novel of the Irish expat experience brought impeccably to the screen by Crowley and Hornby, with Saoirse Ronan excelling herself in the leaf.
A tremendous lead performance lifts Nick Hornby’s screen translation of Colm Tóibin’s novel out of sentimental period nostalgia into an intelligent drama.
The real achievement of Brooklyn is that it feels so fresh and original even as it retreads pathways so many other film-makers have already ventured down.
The strength of emotion they bring to their roles ensures that Brooklyn is also a sweet, beguiling romance.
Utterly sweet and charming.
If the film also serves up quite a rose-tinted view of the immigrant experience (with perhaps a few too many supporting characters on the verge of being little more than twinkly caricatures), the emotion at the heart of the story is at least authentic enough to see it through.
Saoirse Ronan is the miraculous still centre of this beautiful, old-fashioned adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel about a young Irish woman in America.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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