I think I missed something. I heard about Brooklyn through a friend that had seen it in the US when it came out. Then the very good reviews started popping out every now and then from all over the world. That’s why I think I missed the memo cause the truth is that I don’t care about Brooklyn.
Saoirse Ronan carries this role on her shoulders and with it the weight of an Irish girl immigrating to the United States in the 1950s to start a new and better life. We see her falling in love with a young man, missing her family and country, and being torn by that separation.
Sorry to say, ladies and gents, but Eilis Lacey is as boring and uninteresting as you and me. I don’t get the point of Brooklyn. I get that her situation is hard. She’s leaving a country she’s known all her life, leaving her family and friends behind, most of whom she may never see again. Rebuilding yourself in a new country is hard emotionally for everyone. But this character doesn’t exactly have it hard. What’s her biggest obstacle? She gets seasick in the ferry.
The worst is that it could have been so much more meaningful. This story must have happened to thousands of young girls at that time. But it’s told with such a bland and plain filter that it’s forgettable. And let’s not talk about that love triangle. I really don’t care for a girl who is torn between two guys that she loves on two different continents. I would have gone to see a YA adaptation for that.
Brooklyn is all about aesthetics for me. It’s candy for the eyes. Everything is gorgeous, from the cinematography to the makeup, hair, and costume. It’s stunning. The acting isn’t bad either, even though not quite motivating. It’s technically perfect but lacks a small very important detail, emotions. Even with a touchy-feely, tear extracting story full of feelings, it just lacked sentiment.
For me, it’s one of 3 movies we had this year which are what I call film paintings. Movies that technically are beautifully produced, but who hold little to no deeper meaning. Everything’s on the surface. Carol and The Danish Girl are like this too. Even if Carol tells a little more, those directors and writers could have said so much more on their subjects and chose to stay out of it. Brooklyn could have been so much more, and with such a potential to see that result, it’s frankly disappointing!
That being said, its main theme is a universal one. To be away from home, not knowing where to fit in the world, and eventually to create a new home from scratch. Any people who immigrated or traveled for a really long time had to face this, in a more or less harsh way.
Brooklyn is not a strong Oscar contender, it was almost forgotten at the Golden Globes, and is one of the nominated movies I enjoyed the least. I would still recommend it if you want to see what the hype is all about.
Rating: 2.5/5
WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT BROOKLYN?
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