Since it has premiered at TIFF, we would have a lot of reviews/reactons. I think it would be best to start a thread with
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mysteryfan — 10 years ago(September 14, 2015 07:26 AM)
The crew did mini reviews for different movies. Here is Broolyn's.
Brooklyn
You can't take your eyes off Saoirse Ronan's luminous and expressive face, which is in almost every scene of Brooklyn, in which she stars as Eilis Lacey, a young Irish woman encouraged to leave home and make a new life in the U.S. Her journey through homesickness, love (with the charming Emory Cohen as her Italian-American boyfriend) and return home to her mother is beautiful to experience and look at. On paper, this sounds like a movie you've seen a thousand times, but it's no stodgy period piece. With a funny and touching script by Nick Hornby, beautiful acting and directing, Brooklyn is a joy to visit. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Ilana Banks, producer.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/tiff-2015-capsule-movie-reviews-1.3209827 -
mysteryfan — 10 years ago(September 14, 2015 07:55 AM)
TIFF Review: Brooklyn
by Danita Steinberg | Sep 12, 2015
Brooklyn is about a young woman moving to New York City from Ireland in the early 1950s. The film follows her as she slowly recovers from homesickness and begins to flourish into her new life in America.
As a period piece, Brooklyn is stunning. The costumes, especially, are drool worthy. The entire movie is classic storytelling at its finest. That being said, while Brooklyn couldve easily played out like a story weve seen a thousand times before, it goes above and beyond the tropes of the genre. It is less of a sweeping love story, and more of an extremely personal coming of age story. Its an empowering story of a young woman making her own choices for her own life.
At the films core is its star, Saoirse Ronan who plays Eilis. Brooklyn would not be the film it is without her stellar performance. Shes magnetic and endlessly watchable.
Brooklyn will absolutely sweep you off your feet from start to finish. It is everything anyone would ever want in a movie. Brooklyn is exactly the kind of movie we go to the theatres to see.
Is Brooklyn essential festival viewing?
If youre going to see any of the bigger Hollywood fare, make sure this is on your list. It is perfection.
http://thetfs.ca/2015/09/12/tiff-review-brooklyn/ -
jlent — 10 years ago(September 14, 2015 12:37 PM)
A rundown of critcs:
What are the reviews of 'Brooklyn' saying about Saoirse Ronan's early Oscar buzz?
Brooklyn, the new film based on the Colm Tibn novel of the same name, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival yesterday, with the reviews adding more fuel to the fire of Irish star Saoirse Ronans Oscar buzz.
The film, which tells the story of a young Irishwomans emigration to New York in the 1950s, also stars Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, and Julie Walters, working off a script by English writer Nick Hornby and directed by Intermission helmer John Crowley.
Todays reviews of the film have been overwhelmingly positive, with many critics singling out Ronan as a frontrunner for a Best Actressnod, to add to her 2007 nomination for Best Supporting Actressfor Atonement, as we head into Oscar season.
In The Telegraph, critic Tim Robey writes that in taking on the role of Eilis, Ronan produces easily her most mature performance, and she steps up to the occasion with b68captivating sensitivity. The whole shape of Eiliss life feels somehow up to the young actress playing her, which is exactly as it should be.
The The New York Post review describes Ronans work as an awards-calibre performance, while Eye for Film applauded the Irish actress for giving her role the space to breathe and transform from someone smart but timid into a more worldly decision-maker.
On RogerEbert.com, critic Susan Wloszczyna enjoyed the film, though warned that its romantic plot means it could easily become your grandmothers favourite movie of the year. But Ronan was singled out for lifting the movie up with her ability to deploy her expressive features with aplomb while relaying her characters inner journey.
But The Mary Sue, a feminist pop culture blog, was glowing in its praise of the entire film, saying: Along with Ronans lovely, contained performance (saying it is one of her best so far is saying a lot of an actress who has already been so good), and excellent support from the cast, the script is really remarkable and stands out as one of the very best of year.
Brooklyn will be released in cinemas on both sides of the Atlantic on November 6th, and you can watch the trailer below
http://www.newstalk.com/What-are-the-reviews-of-Brooklyn-saying-about-Saoirse-Ronans-early-Oscar-buzz -
DCI77 — 10 years ago(September 14, 2015 12:44 PM)
On RogerEbert.com, critic Susan Wloszczyna enjoyed the film, though warned that its romantic plot means it could easily become your grandmothers favourite movie of the year.
Who cares, Wloszcyna. If that means more popularity when it comes to BO receipts, and a strong WOM, then I'd give all the grandmas a high-five.
2015: Slow West, Brooklyn -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 14, 2015 02:57 PM)
As you're aware, I enjoy reading all the reviews I'm able to find whether written by established critics or obscure bloggers. I've found like two or three unfavorable and one who didn't care for the central performance.
My retort to those very few who aren't crazy about the movie is filmmakers don't have to reinvent the wheel to make an excellent film. It doesn't have to be especially creative or something relatively new (if there is such a thing).
What matters is the expert execution of the material hopefully based upon a very good script. The story is straightforward without a villain or intense conflict, but according to the reviews, it reaches people emotionally without being saccharine. -
mysteryfan — 10 years ago(September 14, 2015 06:40 PM)
TIFF 2015: Exhilarating Drama 'Brooklyn' Is the Quintessential Immigrant Tale
Anyone whose grandparents or great-grandparents (or great-great-grandparents, etc) immigrated from Europe in the early or mid-20th century will feel a special connection to Brooklyn, a swoon-inducing romantic drama that debuted with limited screenings yet major acclaim at Sundance and is racking up more fans this week at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film encapsulates the immigrant experience as a whole, and tells one helluva heartstring-tugging love story in the process.
The always magnetic Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Hanna) finally gets to flex her natural Irish brogue as Eilis Lacey, a mild-mannered shop clerk in the quiet seaside County Wexford who, with the help of the church, gets the opportunity to live in the United States. Eilis leaves her mother and sister behind, and crosses the Atlantic on a lonely and seasickness-filled journey.
Her new life doesnt get any easier back on land; shes homesick and lonesome, and not compatible with the gossipy roomates she shares a Brooklyn brownstone with under the watchful eye of the whimsical Mrs. Kehoe (Julie Walters). She lives for letters from her sister, and slogs through days working behind the counter at a department store and nights studying bookkeeping.
Brooklyn gets off to a slow start, admittedly, but that all changes once Eilis meets Tony (the perfectly cast Emory Cohen), a sweet and charming Italian-American plumber who shows up at her church dances admitting that he likes Irish girls. The chemistry between Eilis and Tony (as well as Ronan and Cohen) is immediate, and their connection deep. Theyre two lost souls with the chance to be soulmates.
Its at this point where the heartsting-tugging, eye-watering, and full-on verklemptness kicks in, and amazingly, at least for this viewer, didnt relent for the movies final hour. Their relationship isnt just pure. Ronan and Cohen click so well that it feels akin to watch someone close in your life finally finding their match.
Of course, it wouldnt make for a great movie if it were that easy, and some events we wont spoil here send Eilis back to Ireland where she gets caught up with an equally 5b4as worthy suitor from her hometown, the quietly alluring Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson). Before, we know it, its a will-she-or-wont-she scenario, and it only drives the drama to greater heights.
The film is directed by Irish director John Crowley, who gave us the great-if-underseen indies Intermission and Boy A. Its his most personal work to date, and many stateside viewers should feel a deeply personal connection with it, especially those of us whose ancestors of different ethnicities in The Great Melting Pot that is America.
Brooklyn is one of the best films weve seen about the immigration experience yet.
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/tiff-2015-exhilarating-drama-brooklyn-is-the-129106725727.html -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 07:47 AM)
My Film Journal
Brooklyn
With todays headlines filled with stories of mass migrations of people from Libya pouring into Europe, leaving their homelands to find a better life, we would do well to remember the story of our own ancestors who once faced similar journeys and prospects when they came to America by the boatful from their ancestral lands in Europe.
Based on the award winning historical novel by Irish author Colm Tibn, Brooklyn is director John Crowleys beautifully told, if traditionally staged epic film adaptation of this captivating coming-of-age tale that follows a journey across the sea to a new world.
Brooklyn focuses on an Irish girl in her early twenties, Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), who lives with her widowed mother and older sister in the town of Enniscorthy, Ireland. At a time when work is extremely scars, Eilis grows frustrated with her prospects in this s2000mall town existence and the mentality of its folk, especially the young men who all dress the same and just want to get drunk.
Visually, the production is sparing and conservatively filmed but well researched and beautifully costumed with 50s fashion. The real strength of the film though is in its powerful heartfelt performances and tightly focused story of Eilis Lacey, exquisitely performed by Saoirse Ronan from Hanna (2011), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
Encouraged by her sister and a local Catholic priest who has sponsored her and arranged for a job waiting for her, Eilis reluctantly agrees to venture out and board a boat headed for New York City, leaving behind the only family she has. After a difficult journey she arrives in a strange new land of modern ideas and a large community of Irish workers.
While staying in a boarding house for Irish women, she starts working for a high-end department store as a sales clerk but becomes increasingly unhappy and homesick until she meets a charming young Italian-American plumber who is totally taken with her. Their relationship grows as she takes night classes to become an accountant, when she gets devastating news from back home that forces her to return.
What she finds upon returning to her hometown in Ireland is that she is treated differently now. Having grown into a woman from abroad she now has many more prospects than she did before but some things have not changed. Eilis must now make a life changing decision that will determine her future happiness and identity.
The film delves into strong themes of letting go of our past and embracing the uncertain future. Poignant themes of identity are touched upon and the struggles we face when torn between two places and two communities, and the frightening prospect of deciding where we belong and what we want.
Deciding between our responsibility to ancestral family or the excitement and possibilities of a new modern life, Eilis predicament is universally relatable and will tug at the heartstrings. As many of our own ancestors must have done, she must make the difficult decision to return to her old life and family in Ireland for good or embrace a new one in an exciting but uncertain new world far away across the sea.
Brooklyn is an emotionally satisfying straight forward old fashioned romantic film that manages to leave a lasting impression without any fancy editing or camera effects. A must see.
JP
http://my-filmjournal.blogspot.com -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 09:45 AM)
Yes, I thought it was apparent from its debut at Sundance that the reviews were going in a very positive direction. I'm hoping we see more filter out before the next batch when the film screens at the New York Film Festival beginning on 7 October.
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zorrodvd — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 01:23 PM)
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Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 06:25 PM)
Thanks for the link zorro. This is a great review. Here it is in its entirety:
From JoBlo/ By: Chris Bumbray 15 September 2015
PLOT: In the 1950's, a young Irish woman (Saoirse Ronan) leaves her family and home behind to start a new life in the United States. Settling in Brooklyn, the comely young woman finds a new sense of self, especially once she falls in love with a kindhearted plumber (Emory Cohen). Her happiness is short-lived when a family tragedy forces her to return to Ireland, where she begins to succumb to the charms of a kindly former neighbor (Domhnall Gleeson) making her unsure of where her real home truly lies.
REVIEW: John Crowley's BROOKLYN was a film I was hellbent to catch at this year's Sundance Film Festival. A raging fever prevented me from seeing what had been one of my most-anticipated films of this festival, with Crowley's previous BOY A being one of my favorite movies of the last few years (it helped by Andrew Garfield on the map). Good things come to those who wait, and I'm pleased to say that Crowley's ode to the immigrant experience is just as charming as the early reviews promised.
More than anything, BROOKLYN will be remembered as the movie where Saoirse Ronan truly crossed-over and became an adult lead after years of playing juveniles. Her performance here is strong enough that Oscar chatter seems like a logical result, with her exquisitely capturing the many conflicts that emerge in the soul of a person forced to redefine their identity after being cut-off from everything they know.
Her performance is often stunning, with early scenes depicting her Ellis as a comely young Irish lass, who's perfectly content with her lot in-life. It's her older, educated sister who demands she go abroad in order to craft a new, more modern life for herself away from the vicious gossips and repressive church life.
In a twist, her salvation in America actually comes from a kindly priest (an extremely lovable Jim Broadbent) who senses the girl's intelligence and encourages her to be independent. It's wonderful to see how Ronan blossoms into a confident woman, and her romance with Emory Cohen's gentlemanly Italian plumber winds up being one of the more effective screen romances in recent years. While his James Dean/Marlon Brando-like method drawl is a little thick, Cohen really does have an awful lot of charm, and his chemistry with Ronan is superb.
BROOKLYN is really a movie of two halves, with one being set stateside (they could have called it Montreal with all the period Brooklyn location work having been done there) while the other is a kind of genteel coming home tale not unlike THE QUIET MAN albeit given a modern feminist slant once Ronan goes back to Ireland. Domhnall Gleeson is excellent as Cohen's kindly, appealing rival for her affections, and one of the most satisfying things about the film is how free of conflict it really is, with this being more of a gentle story about good people simply trying to be happy.
Nick Hornsby's adaptation of the Colm Toibin novel is superb, in that it expertly provides juicy, likable supporting roles for even the most minor characters, with Eva Birthistle making a big impression early-on as a tough but kind passenger on the ship to America who takes Ellis under her wing. Once in Brooklyn, Julie Walters steals every scene as Ellis' sharp-tongued but lovable boarding house landlord (another potential Oscar nominee).
Despite the fact it wasn't shot in Brooklyn, the film does a terrific job evoking the fifties, with the lushness of the Irish countryside (shot by Yves Belanger) being a beautiful contrast. Crowley's work behind the camera here is top-notch, and this along with the handful of episodes he directed in this season of True Detective (he did the better installments) suggest a director at the top of his prowess. This is truly a pleasant, lovely film which is a sharp contrast to the darker and more challeging fare the Toronto International Film Festival is generally known for. Even if period romances aren't your cup of tea, give BROOKLYN a shot. It has a genuine openhearted-ness to it that is rare in film nowadays, and should resonate with anyone who ever left home for a life where happiness was the goal but far from a sure thing.
*Bumbray scored Brooklyn an outstanding 9/10 -
DCI77 — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 10:11 PM)
More than anything, BROOKLYN will be remembered as the movie where Saoirse Ronan truly crossed-over and became an adult lead after years of playing juveniles.
Her performance here is strong enough that Oscar chatter seems like a logical result, with her exquisitely capturing the many conflicts that emerge in the soul of a person forced to redefine their identity after being cut-off from everything they know.
http:16d0//www.imdb.com/board/21519680/board/thread/237581712?p=4&d=239594793#239594793
2015: Slow West, Brooklyn -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 16, 2015 04:09 AM)
Joe Utichi @joeutichi 1h1 hour ago
Brooklyn is spectacular. Saoirse Ronan arrives as a serious adult actor, in a wonderfully moving human story. #tiff15
^Writes about films for The Sunday Times, Deadline Hollywood, Yahoo! Movies etc. Occasionally makes sense. -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 16, 2015 04:50 AM)
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Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 16, 2015 07:10 AM)
I just got the O.K. to copy what an audience member wrote about Saoirse on the Brooklyn board. The title of the post was
"Saoirse Ronan is mesmerizing."
by Arit 1 day ago (Tue Sep 15 2015 05:48:11) Flag | Reply |
IMDb member since September 1999
Her screen presence in this film is incredible.
Aside from her Irish ancestry which makes her a natural fit for the role, there's something magical about her portrayal that makes you actually root for the protagonist.
I've been always wondering what the fuss surrounding her was all about, having not watched Atonement (2007) and most other films starring her. Now Brooklyn (2015) alone is enough evidence to me of her great p1c84otential.
Here is the followup:
by Arit 1 hour ago (Wed Sep 16 2015 05:45:20)
IMDb member since September 1999
Post Edited: Wed Sep 16 2015 05:52:00
No problem. Feel free to share it on the Saoirse board!
I might add that Saoirse received a standing ovation from many people in the audience, so it's safe to say she has done something right in this film.