Directed by Irish film, TV, and theater director John Crowley, Brooklyn is a historical period film based on the novel of the same name by Irish novelist Colm Tóibín. Like the novel, the film has already attracted several accolades, and is currently nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.

Brooklyn is a sentimental drama. It takes place in both the United States and Ireland during the 1950s, and should tug at the heartstrings of American viewers, especially those who descended from immigrant parents of Irish or Italian origin. For such audience members who have ever imagined what it was like for their parents or grandparents to have fallen in love in a fast changing post-war immigrant friendly America, Brooklyn should carry added value.

This of course, isn’t as true for the rest of us.

Fortunately, the film is skillfully directed enough to keep us interested. What’s more, it features some excellent characterisation for its main character. Brooklyn offers a nuanced take on the coming-of-age romance story of a young immigrant woman, Eilis Lacey, going through the tidal waves of life while caught in indecision. At the heart of Brooklyn is the brilliant Saoirse Ronan’s subtle performance as the leading lady. She is certainly a lock-in for an Oscar after proving adept at conveying complex emotions through understated variations in her facial expressions and body language.

Brooklyn offers a nuanced take on the coming-of-age romance story of a young immigrant woman going through the tidal waves of life

When the film begins in the southeastern Irish town of Enniscorthy, a sort of place where everybody knows everybody, Eilis is an uneasy young woman who works an unsatisfactory and poorly paying job at a shop with a mean boss named Miss Kelly. Here, we learn that thanks to her older sibling Rose (Fiona Glascott), and an Irish priest settled in the United States, Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), she has found a job in America. What’s more, Rose has prepared for her to travel to the land of opportunity.

The decision to immigrate isn’t easy though. As Miss Kelly taunts her when she quits, Eilis’ mother is old, and leaving Ireland would mean placing the entire responsibility of her care on her sister. Still carrying this heartache, Eilis is in for more turmoil when she suffers from seasickness on her journey to America. There she is befriended by a well-dressed and experienced Irishwoman, who contrasts sharply with her shabbily dressed meek self, and who takes her under her wing. Much later, on another trip, this role of mentor is taken by Eilis in a rather heavy-handed allegory for the growth of her character.

After settling into a good job in the United States and earning an education, Eilis discovers a confidence she never knew she had. Here, she meets Tony (Emory Cohen), with whom she carefully forms a romantic bond. Tony’s Italian family welcomes Eilis and the subplot between the two characters is as touching as it is sweet.

On the cusp of several life changing decisions, Eilis is caught in hesitancy, procrastinating on matters until her hand is forced.

Brooklyn is a good but imperfect film. For one, the subtle nature of the storytelling is perhaps a little too subtle for audience members not stirred by the historical setting. To make matters worse, John Crowley seems to have little interest in period piece production values; while Eilis moves between continents we barely get a feel for the breadth of her travels or differences in culture between 1950s Ireland and the United States. What’s more, aside from Eilis, Brooklyn is devoid of compelling characters. If Brooklyn is to win Best Picture, it will certainly need more than the luck of the Irish by its side.

MPAA Rating: Brooklyn is rated PG-13 for an adult scene and brief strong language.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, February 21st, 2016