It is a pity that Valentine’s Day just passed, since “Brooklyn”(2015) is the most uplifting love story of the year. Granted “Fifty Shades of Grey” (2015) put up a good fight, but the classy classicism of “Brooklyn” makes this simple tale of two cities a heartwarming crowd pleaser, and glamorizes Colm Tóibín’s 2009 source novel.
“Brooklyn” begins in Ireland, where Eilis (pronounced Ay-lish, and played brilliantly by Saoirse Ronan) has lived in Enniscorthy, County Wexford her whole life, a town where “everyone knows her auntie and loves to talk.” She works weekends at the local grocer under her aquiline, churlish boss, yet seems content with the womblike security of her small community. But her sister, Rose, has bigger plans for young Eilis, and sends her off to Brooklyn, New York to work at Bartocci’s, an upscale clothing store, and live in an Irish boarding house for women. Her seasickness on the lengthy boat ride quickly becomes homesickness on land, as the New York accents grate and the greyery of city blocks replaces the greenery of home. Even the boarding house feels slightly uncanny, like a replica of her old home, but the pieces aren’t quite right. Its inhabitants are at various stages of assimilation, from a flirtatious, giggling pair nearly shorn of their Irish identifiers, down to a homely neophyte just off the boat. Only the madam of the house, Mrs. Kehoe (Julie Walters, known for her Molly Weasley role in the Harry Potter series), preserves the piety and piquancy so familiar from home.
But Eilis’ tale is not one of martyrdom or pity. There are no scenes of her being splashed by a passing truck or mistakenly entering some seedy underworld. Her American life has been properly pre-organized by her sister and Father Flood of the local church, and her savviness and quiet tenacity carry her through the storm of transition. This is not “The Immigrant”(2013); the traditional destitution and hardship of immigrant life is glossily painted over in warm pastels and a jazzy score. Scenes of her alone in diners and crying over letters from home are quickly replaced by those of her rapt in night school and dancing at church functions.
At the church’s weekly Irish dances she finds Tony (Emory Cohen), a cute Italian plumber who has a thing for Irish girls — “Italian girls use their hands too much” he admits. He has touches of Marlon Brando with his edges softened by his love for baseball and family. Theirs is the classic love story in fast-forward, accelerated by the rapture of discovery. Eilis experiences “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952), the Coney Island beach and spaghetti all for the first time, and delights in their foreignness. And Tony delights in the foreignness of her. Indeed, Eilis braves this new world, allowing the kaleidoscopic urban experience to dazzle and bring color to her blank slate. Her clothes move from the ascetically chaste to the aesthetically scintillating, from church sweaters to vibrant, flowing dresses and sunglasses. Her mousy, forced small talk with customers becomes bubbly banter. One could almost see her slapping a taxi Ratso Rizzo style, but the Catholic in her would never be so gauche.
She marries Tony like a true New Yorker: spontaneously and rapidly. But the sudden death of her sister brings Eilis back to Ireland for a month, where the town colludes to keep her at home for fear of permanently losing one of their own. Eilis takes over Rose’s position as an accountant and is courted by the town catch, Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson, who played Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter series). The siren song of home lulls Eilis into old comforts and it becomes unclear whether Eilis will ever tie herself to the boat and return to Brooklyn and Tony.
This is not a film about culture shock, but about reverse culture shock, of returning home and finding a foreign world altered by contrast. The beaches are quieter, but life is smaller, where people make promises to travel the world but never venture beyond Enniscorthy’s pastures. She is torn between Tony and Jim, who symbolize the two poles of Eilis’ life: one promises adventure, the other security. While the love story occasionally feels commonplace, the immigrant framework makes the film feel remarkably fresh and one you certainly want to keep in your pocket for next Valentine’s Day.
Rating: 9/10
“Brooklyn” is now playing at the Nugget Theater at 4:20 p.m. and 6 p.m.
