BROOKLYN
Special Presentation D: John Crowley. UK/Ireland/Canada. 105 min. Sep 13, 6 pm, Sep 14, 11 am, Winter Garden. See listing. Rating: NNNN
Crowley’s adaptation of Colm Toibin’s coming-of-age story about Eilis (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish woman who leaves behind her mother and sister to work in America in the 1950s, is a quiet, old-fashioned yet utterly heartfelt film.
After leaving Ireland, where there aren’t many opportunities, and surviving the boat passage, Eilis is shy and homesick while living in a boarding house and working at a department store. Soon she takes night classes, meets a charming Italian-American plumber named Tony (Emory Cohen, a real find) and gains confidence. Then something calls her back home.
The film, with a clear and unpretentious script by Nick Hornby, is beautifully paced, offering up lots of gentle humour (especially involving strict landlady Julie Walters) as well as a touch of harsh social realism.
Ronan, making a believable transition from mousy teen to confident young woman ready to live life on her own terms, is magnificent.
Read our cover story with Saoirse Ronan here.
