{"id":5217,"date":"2016-01-25T06:30:23","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T11:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=5217"},"modified":"2016-02-15T08:42:11","modified_gmt":"2016-02-15T13:42:11","slug":"brooklyn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=5217","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Saoirse

Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn<\/p><\/div>\n

Not in the mood for the stunning violence of The Revenant<\/em> or the bitter racism of The Hateful Eight<\/em>? Nor the angst of Carol<\/em> or The Danish Girl<\/em>? Nor the special effects weaponry of Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/em>? Here\u2019s a nice, sweet historical movie about first love, the pains and rewards of immigration, and the choices we make.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn<\/em> (trailer<\/a>), as directed by John Crowley, with a script by Academy Award nominee Nick Hornby (based on Colm T\u00f3ib\u00edn\u2019s book of the same name), reminds us that leaving home is a lonely choice, even when it\u2019s the best choice a person has. (And so much harder before email, skype, and budget air fares.)<\/p>\n

When clear-eyed Eilis Lacey (played by Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan) leaves Ireland to come to America in the early 1950s, she has no confidence that she\u2019ll ever see Ireland again. In a bit of cross-cultural serendipity, she meets Italian plumber Tony (Emory Cohen), and each is charmed with the other and the cultures they come from. Watching her try to learn to eat spaghetti under the tutelage of her bantering roommates is splashily funny. But when tragedy at home calls Eilis back to Ireland, she does go, despite the length, cost, and difficulty of the journey. Once home, the inducements to stay mount.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn<\/em>\u2014which was also an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture\u2014has moments with \u201ca resonance that extends far beyond its immediate circumstances,\u201d says Glenn Kenny<\/a> for Rogerebert.com. It\u2019s a beautiful, big-hearted movie that will leave you smiling, Irish eyes or no.<\/p>\n

Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics rating: 98%; audiences 90%.<\/p>\n

Bonus treat:<\/a> an interview with Colm T\u00f3ib\u00edn and Alice Walker (The Color Purple<\/em>) about the translation of their novels into film, including a guide to pronouncing his name.
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