Brooklyn

For a moment you have the feeling that it will resemble the best of Minghella in its innocence and precise direction, sometimes the main trio's Atonement winks at us with its atmosphere and fatefulness, and in the end you will recognize only a modern, subtly made, sometimes emotional romance for not completely stupid viewers who want something more, but mainly nothing inventive, beyond their perception. A punishingly mediocre film, with an excellent performance by Saoirse Ronan, who is wasted here for such a normal story with such a lacklustre denouement. (21/05/2016)

Brooklyn is a story from the time when at least the United States welcomed economic migrants almost with open arms and all one had to do to pass through immigration control was to put on decent make-up and smile sweetly. But the film is a return to a bygone era, not only in its realities but also in its straightforward narrative. Compared to the book, it is more sentimental, more literal and less thematically expansive (it leaves out the manipulation of African-Americans and the hint of lesbian love). At the same time, however, it mostly retains the likably unforced development of events and more thoroughly develops the motif of two homes through its narrative structure. In the second half of the film, Eilis experiences similar situations as in the first half, except she is now much more experienced, having risen from pupil to teacher (the transformation culminates in the second scene on the boat, when she advises an inexperienced girl). Green is a constant reminder of home, to which other colours are gradually added, just as other emotions are added to the sadness in the protagonist’s face (instead of one emotion being completely replaced by another). The inability to cut ties to her homeland adds ambivalence to the protagonist’s journey toward fulfilling her dream – during the first hour, she suppresses her sadness, first through concentrated work, then by building a new home, only to be painfully reminded that her real and only home is in Ireland. Thus, unlike other immigration stories, the move to the US is not the end but the beginning of suffering. The boldest departure from the source material is the significant abridgment of the introductory part of the story. In the book, we get to know the environment and the people Eilis will have to leave behind over the course of several dozen pages. In the film, the girl announces shortly after the beginning that she is leaving for America, which she promptly does. Therefore, we don’t have the possibility to better get to know her older and more experienced sister Rose, whose legacy Eilis develops, and thus no tension arises with respect to which of the sisters deserves success and which will ultimately achieve it. Eilis can easily be accepted as a traditional romantic heroine. The film is thus less subversive than the book in relation to the conventions of idealistic narratives about the fulfilment of the American dream. However, it preserves the book’s narrative straightforwardness and its matter-of-fact, unsentimental tone, as it does not simply communicate to us in words and music what the protagonists is going through, but lets us experience it with her. 80% (27/02/2016)

I can't help it, but this movie just couldn't fully engage me. The story didn't interest me, even though I see a certain depth in it that comes with the point. As a romance, it is pleasantly calm, there are no intense scenes, which I like. It is well done how the world tries to influence one life. And he doesn't let it. But I'm not enthusiastic about the movie. (24/01/2016)

A film just like its main protagonist: a gray mouse carving a path between more attractive and prominent ones. And thanks to the fact that the role of Eilis is custom tailored for Saoirse Ronan, I feel her desire to make her own decisions at life's crossroads very closely. However, if the last act had taken a slightly more mature direction, I would have believed all of Brooklyn. The questions around relationships and bridges that can't be burned, either towards each other or away from each other, were painful for all of us. To wrap them up with a rich harlequin romance was, therefore, a cheap shot. (31/01/2016)

A Rosamunde Pilcher-like sweet pastry wrapped in an American flag that is a straightforward example of academic and emotional cynicism. Everything is at a high level of craftsmanship and with great actors who make us believe the emotions, but at the same time the story is terribly pathetic, predictable and artificially human, channelled through women's tears and the suffering of love. What definitely deserves the most praise is the performance of Saoirse Ronan, the rest will soon be lost in the crowded cinematic memory. (22/07/2016)