HBOWatch Editors were not able to line-up a writer to review BROOKLYN, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to draw your attention to the PG-13 rated drama playing on HBO. The movie premiered on Saturday, 08.13 at 8:00pm and is still airing across the channels as well as on HBOGo/HBONow. The story gives us Eilis Lacey, played by Saoirse, Ronan, a young Irish girl who emigrated to the title location in the early 1950’s. Aided by Father Flood, (Jim Broadbent) a priest from her homeland, she is assured to find a full-time job in her new city. She manages to make her on way by adapting to her job as a salesgirl, by studying bookkeeping at Brooklyn College and friendly advise from Mrs. Kehoe, (Julie Walters)the owner of the boarding school she now lives in. Finally love shows up in her life. He is Tony, played by Emory Cohan, an Italian-American plumber with heart. Complications arise tearing Eilis apart as she must choose to pick between returning to a crisis back in Ireland or embracing her new, full life in Brooklyn.
The 111 minute move from Fox Searchlight was critically acclaimed and won several nominations and awards. It received three Oscar noms for Best Picture (won that honor at BAFTA), Best Actress for Ronan (she received 51 nominations for her performance in all) and Best Adapted Screenplay for Nick Hornby. It was based on a Colm Toibin novel and was directed by John Crowley. Crowley also directed two episodes of HBO’s TRUE DETECTIVE Season 2. Several reviews compared Emory Cohen in this film to a young Marlon Brando. In reality, Cohen based his character of Tony on various sources, including Brando.
The Hollywood Reporter said:
Classily and classically crafted in the best sense by director John Crowley and screenwriter Nick Hornby, this superbly acted romantic drama is set in the early 1950s and provides the feeling of being lifted into a different world altogether, so transporting is the film’s sense of time and place and social mores.
Here is a trailer followed by Rotten Tomatoes opinion:
If you haven’t fallen in love with Brooklyn HBO is giving you a chance. Let us know if you liked the movie in the comments below.
