7.5/10. Dan Harmon, creator of Community is known for several things -- his trademark bottle of vodka, his tendency to spill his guts to audiences full of strangers, but also his story circle. The story circle is a device that Harmon uses as a blueprint for nearly any story he writes or supervises. It offers a series of steps to telling a story: 1. A character is in a zone of comfort; 2. But they want something; 3. They enter an unfamiliar situation; 4. Adapt to it; 5. Get what they wanted; 6. Pay a heavy price for it; 7. Then return to their familiar situation; 8. Having changed.

Brooklyn is basically Story Circle: The Movie. Eilis may not have the best life in Ireland, but she is comfortable there. But she hopes and wants for a better life than she can expect to have in the Emerald Isle. So she moves to Brooklyn, a situation whose unfamiliarity is hammered home from the first Irish immigrant she meets on the boat, to her fellow boarders who snip at her a bit, but also guide her through her new surroundings. She slowly but surely grows accustomed to her new home, with its different social mores and customs. She eventually has a good job, a future in accounting, a boyfriend, and the good life her sister wanted for her when she helped send Eilis to America. But just as she grows comfortable in that new life, she pays the price not being able to be home for her sister's funeral or to comfort her mother in person. Eventually, she's able to return home, but as the film makes clear in its third act, she is much different person now then when she left it.

That's not meant to be a criticism of the film. That type of adherence to story structure does lead to a film that feels conventional, and in truth Brooklyn is a feel-good story that is as interested in a film experience that feels like slipping into a warm bath as it is in proceeding through its simple-but-sweet coming of age tale. The notes are familiar, but the melody is beautiful, and the audience goes home happy.

At one point, Eilis offers her beau, Tony, an adjective to describe herself -- amenable. And it's the perfect way to describe Brooklyn It's a very amenable film, happy to lean into the soft hues of the past to tell a love story, and immigrant story, and a bildungsroman, in gentle tones that provoke smiles and sighs as Eilis finds happiness, love, and fulfillment despite her initial reservations and homesickness.

If I have a criticism, its that Eilis's journey is almost too successful. For all the accusations of unrealistic perfection leveled at Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Eilis is a paragon of good fortune throughout Brooklyn. Nearly everyone she meets in Ireland and in Brooklyn short of the prickly Miss Kelly likes her and helps her to feel more comfortable in whatever her current surroundings are. To boot, she becomes successful at nearly whatever she sets her mind to, from working at the department story, to courting, to her burgeoning skills as a bookkeeper.

But that's not to say Eilis does not face challenges in the film. Hers are challenges of conscience rather than the standard plot obstacles we expect our cinematic protagonists to leap over. The crux of the film is Eilis returning to the land that she thought had nothing there for her, and finding that she was wrong, that there is good work, and friendship, and family, and a nice boy with a good future. Suddenly, the life she forged across the pond, the one with her husband, and her studies, and seems distant, something that unexpectedly has to compete with the renewed comforts of home. The choice the film stakes out -- whether to take the stronger, more confident persona Eilis has built back to Ireland and start a life there better than any she hoped to be able to enjoy, or return to the place that made her into that stronger person with the man she pledged her love to.

The problem is that as well as the film sets up that choice, and lays out compelling elements on both sides of the equation, it glosses over the conclusion in a somewhat unsatisfying fashion. While the touch of Miss Kelly's would-be blackmail is nice, it seems abrupt that after all the time the film spends setting up Eilis's hometown as somewhere that Eilis has a place and could be happy, one harsh woman is enough to send her back to New York. There's subtext about an iron fist hiding beneath the velvet glove that's been offered to Eilis since she returned to Enniscorthy, but it's hard to see it anyone besides Miss Kelly, with everyone else in the town seeming a bit pushy and presumptive, but also genuinely enamored with the young Ms. Lacey. Her confession to her mother is a quietly powerful scene, and the breakup letter she gives to her Irish beau feels like too easy way to resolve that relationship, but more than anything, it just feels odd that one mean old crow is all it takes to convince Eilis that she could never have a life in a place that, despite the vows she's tried so hard to put out of her mind, seemed to welcome her with open arms.

Still, the scene where Tony finds Eilis waiting for him and the pair embrace is a sweet moment, even if it doesn't feel totally earned given what motivated Eilis to come to that point. But it's a lovely image in a film full of them. Brooklyn is awash in muted pastels and primary colors, that give the past a gauzy hue that catches the eye and conveys the sense of a sweeter, simpler time. It's also a supremely well-shot film, that shoots Eilis and Jim Farrell at the beach having a conversation with their romantic companions framed in between them in the distance, conveying the subtext of the exchange. It's also a film keen to use subtle touches to show changes in Eilis's mood or perspective, from the simple act of wearing her bathing suit under her clothes that impresses her friends back home, to the letters she shoves in a drawer to signify the way in which she's putting Brooklyn out of her mind. None of these techniques is so subtle that the viewer will miss them, but the film takes the old admonition "show don't tell" to heart, and succeeds well with that principle in mind.

In the end, Brooklyn is a fairly simple story. Girl leaves home. Girl makes a new life with success and romance. Girl returns home, seeing the beauty of what she left behind and has to choose her new life or her old one. But the film's pleasures come from the sweet stillness of the moments in between, of the temping worlds the film creates on either side of Eilis, in the recognizable steps of maturation, of change, that Eilis goes through as she moves past her homesickness, past her reticence, and eventually, past the girl she used to be. Brooklyn is an aggressively amiable film, that breaks little new ground, but covers the familiar territory with such a pleasant, charming air, that it can be forgiven for making few new steps.

I just spend almost two hours watching this movie, but it felt like only 15 minutes. It’s entertaining till the end and I feel like I want to know and learn even more about Eilis Lacey and her life in Brooklyn.

Eilis Lacey (very well played by Saoirse Ronan) is an Irish girl who’s moving away from her “Mammy” and sister Rose to live and start a new life in Brooklyn. She get’s a job in a warehouse and goes to evening school to persuade her dream of becoming a bookkeeper/accountant. In between all things she meets a fellow named Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen), and they, of course, fall in love. When Eilis decides to go home because of family trouble, they promise each other that she will come back. Once Eilis returns to Ireland, she finds out that she now could live a nice life there as well.

It was great to see Eilis evolve the way she did in Brooklyn and after meeting Tony. Saoirse did such an amazing job as Eilis, from the vulnerable moments to the moments where she is so confident it made me smile a bit. Eilis is such a sweet and relatable character, and even though she makes mistakes, she makes the right choice in the end. You can truly see how she chances throughout the movie. In the beginning she is a shy girl who doesn’t really stand up for herself, she goes along with the little crowd that are the people in her villages, but then she lives in this great city with so many opportunities and people and she learns how she wants to carry herself, what she wants to be and what she wants to become. Alongside Eilis was Tony, whom’s played by Emory Cohen. I’ve never seen anything of Emory’s work before this one, but he’s good and real cute. He made Tony a real gentleman, and all the good and bad qualities came with it. I fell like I did’t really get to know him very well though. I know some of the basic stuff about him, but his character, how he acts and reacts, didn’t have a lot of variety. Where Eilis had a lot of feelings throughout the movie, Tony only had a few. I would have loved to get to know him better. Apart from Saoirse and Emory there were a lot of smaller parts in this movie and I just wanted to point out the actress who played Rose (Eilis sister), Fiona Glascott, and the always great Domhnall Gleeson, who played Jim Farrell. Although they had small parts the were great nonetheless and I could’t leave them out of this review. Jane Brennan who plays Eilis mom, did a great job as well. I’m still not entirely sure if I liked her character or not.

Although I want to know more about Eilis’ her life, the storyline was great. I got just enough information about everything to put it all together, I just would’ve loved to know more (but don’t we all when we watch a movie we like?). I loved the shots they filmed at the dining table in Eilis’ house, which is filled with girly giggles and advices. Some scenes where shot as a close up which I highly appreciated as well. It suited the movie, and brought more emotions to the screen (and it just were very pretty shots).

Brooklyn’s a movie filled with nice shots, great acting and a good story line. I would totally recommend it. (Still feel like I want to know more about all the characters their stories though).

I want to use my last sentence to praise the costume designers, because all the characters just look simple amazing, and I need Eilis’ her closet.

> An ordinary woman's life struggle that lives very close to average of us.

A very fascinating movie. Depicted as a real life drama that is totally different from the other Oscars nominees for this year. Based on the novel of the same name, that tells the story of a young Irish woman, Eilis, in the 1950s who travels to the United States, Brooklyn, looking for a better future. Thousands of kilometers across the Pacific ocean, she finds a new job, new friends, a whole new life, but what she misses is her home and family. So how she makes out of those difficulties, and finds a way to go forward is the rest.

About an ordinary woman's life struggle that lives very close to average of us. That's why I loved this film more than other drama films nominated for this Oscar. The first two acts were amazing, the third was a bit off and cliche, but that's how the story rediscovered by getting back at the conclusion. I think this is Saoirse Ronan's full matured character as an adult woman. She was my favourite child actress and seen all her films. So felt strange to see her like this, because that's not how I remember her, but it only gets better after she does more character like this.

She was very good, in fact, she should get the Oscar for the role. In my prediction, Brie Larson for 'Room' and Ronan are the top contenders, but if Cate Blanchett wins that'll be a great disappointment. I'm also expecting adapted screenplay awards. The cinematography was fantastic, those 50s New York City really brought back on the screen. It is a must watch, especially if you're a middle aged guy, because you're well experienced about personal and social life already, and this movie only a reminder.

9/10

Brooklyn (2015)
A Beautiful and Moving Film - A Love Story.
26 August 2016 - 2 out of 2 users found this review helpful.
A beautiful and moving film. A love story that draws you in, and is told so well that you care about the characters almost immediately. The photography and the close-ups are really beautiful, and the camera loves Saoirse Ronan. She leaves Ireland and she is off to America, (Brooklyn). Her trip to America is shot so economically, yet powerfully, you could feel what it must have been like on that Ocean Liner. Homesick and missing her widowed Mum and Sister she makes a home for herself in Brooklyn. But will she stay in Brooklyn? The cast is amazing, Julie Waters, Jessica Pare, and Jim Broadbent, to mention a few. The wardrobe was authentic, and the soft warm colors seemed to give this film a dreamlike feeling. But In the end it was all about Saoirse, she carried this film, there was never a false moment. When she was homesick, you knew it, you could feel it. I love "BROOKLYN".