I recently watched Brooklyn, and I’ve got to say it’s one of my favorite movies…probably of all times. It’s such a sweet love story, and Saoirse Ronan is perfect in the film. Her performance is full of innocence and wisdom – she definitely deserved her Oscar nomination (I would argue she deserved the Oscar).
Brooklyn tells the story of a young woman, Eilis Lacey (Ronan), who immigrates to America from Ireland to find work and a better life, and in doing so she finds herself and discovers a new world. In the film (and book, but mostly the film), Eilis grows up so much – she starts out as a young, naive girl who blossoms into a woman who knows her path in life. From the heartbreaking scenes where Eilis is homesick and dearly misses her family to uplifting scenes of her falling in love (with an Italian boy), Eilis must determine what kind of life she wants to live (and not the life others want her to have).
Ronan as Eilis walking out into America
The thing that really hit home with me was the scene where she arrives in America and is making her way through immigration. She gets her passport stamped and she walks through the doors to the outside world. Ronan as Eilis looks like a nervous and slightly scared girl as she walks through the door into a white light with this beautiful Irish music playing. To me, it was a haunting scene, as though she is a ghost from the 1950s. My ancestors immigrated to America from Ireland and Italy when they were the same age as Eilis (or younger), and I could just see them being as nervous and scared as her. It was symbolic for me of the journey my ancestors made to America for a better life (for them and their future family). If it wasn’t for their courage and strength to live an a foreign world, I would not be here.
Brooklyn is such a timeless and beautifully told story. I would seriously recommend it.
