A new film called "Brooklyn" takes a look at the immigrant experience in America, circa 1952. NY1's Neil Rosen filed the following review.
Saoirse Ronan lights up the screen in a new film that's sure to be remembered come Oscar time. It's called "Brooklyn."
The time is 1952, and Eilis, a young Irish woman, is given the opportunity for a brighter future by moving to America. Leaving her mother and only sister behind, she sets sail from Ireland and settles in a boarding house in Brooklyn. She works as a sales clerk at a local department store, but she's miserably homesick.
Things brighten up when she meets Tony, a handsome Italian plumber who's immediately smitten with her.
As her dark skies begin to brighten in New York, something happens, which I won't reveal, that makes her have to return briefly to her homeland. Once she's back, she's courted by another suitor, played by Domhnall Gleason, and she now has to choose which life she wants: namely, stay in Ireland, or return to her new life in the USA.
It's a lovely coming-of-age story and a marvelous tale of the immigrant experience in America, showing through the eyes of this young lady how new arrivals struggle to fit in.
Bringing this marvelously to life is Saorise Ronan, who transforms over the course of the film from a naive, scared girl to a confident young woman. It's a slow change, and Ronan is utterly convincing and radiant at every turn. She deserves an Oscar for this magnificent performance.
Also terrific is Emory Cohen as Tony. Together, these two have great chemistry.
Nick Horny does a great job of adapting Colm Toibin's best-selling novel to the screen, and John Crowley expertly directs, marvelously capturing the period.
This film genuinely touched my heart and also made me long for a simpler, sweeter time of courtship, politeness and manners that doesn't really exist today.
Simply put, I loved this movie. I can't wait to see it again, and it's easily one of my favorite films of the year.
Neil Rosen's Big Apple Rating: Four apples