BROOKLYN  3.5***

        Brooklyn is a gorgeous old world style Hollywood romance similar to the  charmers of the 40's and 50's .( Oscar Nominee for Best Picture )

Saoirse Ronan's intuitive acting style meshes perfectly with the material here, in the role of Eilis, a young Irish immigrant girl in the bustling spectacle of Brooklyn/New York City for the first time. To go from a quaint, removed town in tiny Ireland to such a gigantic, populated environment is quite the culture shock indeed, and Ronan infuses this into her work nicely. She arrives with no friends, no family, under the sponsorship of a kindly priest, boarding with a mother hen of a landlord and the other mischievous young lady boarders under her care. The scenes of them at the dinner table are packed with dry, well written girly banter and are a joy to watch. One day, as she meets a young man, a blue collar Italian American (Emory Cohen), and the two immediately have an attraction that the film carefully, sparingly kindles with humble character development and realistic interaction. When tragedy calls her back to Ireland, their relationship is put to the test.    

The title of the movie is very fitting in that the amount of painstaking care that has gone into bringing the setting and time period to life is staggering, from cars, costumes and architecture to the linguistic cadence that people used back then. Truly an impressive technical achievement, which when combined with the stellar performances and direction make a well-rounded film in all areas.

The best thing about the picture is without question the performance of Ronan (Oscar Nominee for Best Actress). She has a major presence on the screen and there's no question but that she nails the rather difficult role. The role asks her to play all sorts of ranges and the actress nails all of them. This includes the rather shy and depressed girl at the start of the picture and the way Ronan physically and emotionally shows the character maturing and coming into her own which is  a pleasure to watch.  

It's a genuinely heartwarming picture, beautifully filmed, with a nostalgic feel for anyone that might have grown up during the era.

Clark