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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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. -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 16, 2015 08:55 AM)
Others in Toronto vying for Oscar gold include Saoirse Ronan, whose work as an Irish immigrant to New York in Brooklyn packs a wallop so subtle it wont hit you until after you walk out of the theater;
http://tinyurl.com/p827f4k
By: Adam Graham September 15, 2015 -
pmfg_pan — 10 years ago(September 16, 2015 03:03 PM)
TinyURL and its ilk are used because IMDb stubbornly refuses to upgrade its forum software to something that can handle long links with a variety of special characters.
That problem has already been solved long time ago. So it doesn't make sense anymore to use TinyURL. -
pmfg_pan — 10 years ago(September 16, 2015 05:04 PM)
Just read the heading for each post.
Sometimes you just post the link without saying anything else, like in this post.
http://www.imdb.com/board/21519680/board/thread/248298978?d=248377219#248377219
I really don't understand why you are so stubborn when it comes to using tinyurl? It just means more work for you and then it also makes things less user friendly for the people reading it. -
pmfg_pan — 10 years ago(September 16, 2015 06:25 PM)
Doesn't the heading indicate the subject matter?
Only if I click on it, otherwhise I only see a random tinyurl link.
The point of not using tinyurl is that we can see immediatly on the url what the link is about, without having to click on it. For example, here is the link of the interview you posted before, but this time without the tinyurl. You can immediately read the heading in the url itself and that Indiewire is the site.
http://www.indiewire.com/article/toronto-how-brooklyn-director-john-crowley-avoids-earnestness-in-his-emotion-driven-films-20150915
This becomes specially useful in very big threads, where you try to find an old link that you saw a few weeks before. But with all these tinyurls it becomes like looking for a needle in a haystack. -
zorrodvd — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 04:37 PM)
THR's Scott Feinberg September 15, 2015 4:14pm
http://tinyurl.com/np48j7r -
purple_lemon — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 04:58 PM)
There is a lot of glowing praise for 'Brooklyn' it seems and my only gripe is how long I will have to wait until the DVD comes out so I will finally be able to see it.
The Players of The Game are the scum of the earth. -
Steve7216 — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 07:21 PM)
This is a great article zorro. Let's post it in full:
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 4:14pm PT by Scott Feinberg
TIFF: Sundance Sensation 'Brooklyn' Surges Back Into Awards Discussion
THR's awards analyst Scott Feinberg explains why John Crowley's film, Nick Hornby's adapted screenplay and especially Saoirse Ronan's lead perf is likely to resonate with the Academy.
In my humble opinion, the movie of the Toronto International Film Festival indeed, a movie for the ages and a probable best picture Oscar nominee is one that was unveiled nine months ago at the Sundance Film Festival, when most Oscar pundits, including me, were busy focusing on last season's Oscar race.
Its name is Brooklyn, it was acquired by Fox Searchlight in Park City and it's a stunning drama about the experience of people who immigrated to America in the 1950s in other words, many of our parents and grandparents and specifically about a young Irishwoman who leaves behind everything she has ever known, including her beloved mother and sister, in order to pursue a better life in America, but finds herself torn between two worlds and two men.
Based on Toronto audiences' responses to the film laughter, tears and voluminous applause I know that I am not alone in feeling that the film is a very special one; in fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it win the fest's People's Choice Award, which has helped to propel a number of other films to very gratifying awards seasons.
Adapted from Colm Toibin's 2009 novel by Oscar nominee Nick Hornby (whose An Education and Wild are also about strong women) and directed by John Crowley, Brooklyn features a number of excellent performances, none better or more central to its success than the one given by 21-year-old Saoirse Ronan.
Previously Oscar-nominated at the age of 13 for her supporting performance in 2007's Atonement, Ronan has always displayed prodigious talent, even in schlock like 2009's The Lovely Bones. With Brooklyn, she has finally found a role truly worthy of her talents Eilis, who evolves and blossoms and possesses your heart and if she doesn't get a best actress Oscar nomination, the Academy shoul2000d close up shop.
Also excellent in supporting roles and worthy of serious Academy consideration are Julie Walters as the woman who runs a boarding house at which Eilis resides in America; Jim Broadbent, as a Barry Fitzgerald-esque priest who helps her acclimate to her new country; Emory Cohen, her Italian-American love interest; and Domhnall Gleeson, her Irish love interest.
Brooklyn, which will be released in the U.S. on Nov. 6, is certainly not the first great film about the immigrant experience see The Godfather: Part II (1974), In America (2002), Like Crazy (2011), The Immigrant (2014) and many films in-between, not to mention TV's Boardwalk Empire but what makes it particularly noteworthy, to me, is that it does so without a gimmick of some sort. Nobody is murdered, prostituted or deported in this film; rather, it depicts good and decent people, with believable and relatable motivations, trying to navigate the treacherous terrain of the human heart. And that is much harder to pull off, let alone to pull off as charmingly and movingly as Brooklyn.
(It's great to read such a ringing endorsement from Scott Feinberg. He was crazy about the film personally, but he knows what appeals to the academy members as a result of his specialized coverage of the awards' season for The Hollywood Reporter. He also mentioned the strong audience reaction to the film at his screening. This is the same thing we heard when the film screened at Sundance. All really good news.) -
jlent — 10 years ago(September 15, 2015 06:00 PM)
Just to break us out of the bubble. (Don't worry, Brooklyn's up there):
Every year a number of films premiere at the Toronto Film festival in hopes of obtaining Oscar buzz and starting out early in the awards race.
However, as usual a number of films disappoint and end up losing steam at the festival. Distributors end up changing their strategies and focusing on better received films. Already four days into the festival, that has been the case with many Oscar films.
One of the most anticipated films of the festival was by far "Freeheld" starring Ellen Page and Julianne Moore. The movie was heavily touted as a Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress contender for both actresses. However, the film was met with a lot of criticism and, while the actresses obtained raves, bad reviews always hurt Oscar chances. Last year the Best Actress field was extremely criticized for its lack of contenders and, as a result, Jennifer Aniston was able to enter the race with her heavily criticized "Cake." However, when it came down to the Academy, Aniston's film was overlooked for the well-respected "Two Days, One Night," which obtained Marion Cotillard her second Oscar nomination. With a crowded Best Actress field, Moore and Page will have a lot of work to do in order for the Academy to consider their work.
Also failing to make strides was "I Saw the Light." The Sony Pictures Classics release has been under the radar for some time but there was still an expectation that it could be an Oscar contender. The film stars Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen, two actors who were getting early buzz. The lackluster marketing on Sony's part was likely a signal of how the film would turn out. Last year Sony was active with three Oscar contenders, "Foxcatcher," "Whiplash" and "Mr. Turner," all of which went to every major festival and went on to get Oscar nominations. This year is not turning out to be the same. "I Saw the Light" was something that most critics disliked. Like "Freeheld," the leads got good notices but that will surely not hold up, especially with the ever-crowded Best Actor category.
Another film that was expected to be a big contender was "About Ray." However, most critics dismissed it for being overly simplistic in transgender topic. Starring Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon and Elle Fanning, the movie's September release was definitely a sign of what the Weinstein Company thought of it in terms of Oscar success.
David Gordon Green's "Our Brand Is Crisis" also opened to mixed reception as it won Sandra Bullock plaudits but the film itself was met with reserved reaction. That is not very surprising given the fact that Warner Bros. programmed it late into its release schedule. Last year Paramount attempted the same ploy with "Men, Women and Children" as the company dated the film a few weeks before Toronto. The result was a critical and box office flop. "Our Brand Is Crisis" may receive mixed reviews but with Bullock powering the film, expect it to be a box office hit if not an Oscar contender.
One film that was met with reserved reaction was "Dheepan." The film remains polarizing especially after winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. While France has not selected its Oscar contender, this film may not be the best choice, especially if critical reception is not great as other foreign film contenders.
However, the news was not sour all around. "Trumbo," starring Bryan Cranston, opened to warm reception as did "Truth" starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford. However, both films are still under the radar lacking true buzz. Maggie Smith's "The Lady in the Van" was also received with exception reviews. However, like "Truth" and "Trumbo," it still needs strong critics reception in order to get into the Oscar conversation.
"The Martian" made an impressive debut with many stating it was Ridley Scott's comeback film and this year's "Gravity" and "Interstellar." It will be interesting to see if Scott is finally able to return to the Oscar conversation after so many years of making sub-par and terribly received films.
Many festival favorites continued to gain traction including "Brooklyn" by Fox Searchlight, "Black Mass" with Johnny Depp, the Netflix drama "Beasts of No Nation," Andrew Haigh's "45 Years" with Charlotte Rampling, and Tom Hooper's "The Danish Girl." "Son of Saul," "The Club," "Room" and "Spotlight" were among winners as well at the festival.
There are still a number of films that have yet to premiere so it will be interesting to see which film ends up winning the People's Choice.
http://www.latinpost.com/articles/79319/20150915/toronto-film-festival-2015-who-winners-losers-far.htm
