In comes director John Crowley portraying the 2009 novel written by Colm Toibin.
Sadly I have not seen any of Crowley's previous work, but they seem quite highly rated on various movie rating sites.
The main thing that intrigued me was the cast involved, the trailer and the buzz there was in the movie community that it was going to get noticed in the upcoming awards season.
I can definitely say that this will certainly be involved in the Oscars and will feature in my own awards. It is not often that we find new releases that can have a classic style of film-making. However, Brooklyn manages to gives us that which I felt was a wonderful throwback that many will enjoy.
You can see great teamwork with Crowley, screenwriter Nick Hornby with assistance from Toibin in creating a very sensitive romantic drama that looks like the film that a Nicholas Sparks adaptation has been trying to be.
Leading the way and possibly to an Oscar is Saoirse Ronan. After her breakthrough performance in Atonement, this American born Irish actor has shown everyone her raw potential for almost the last decade. Ronan gives us such a wonderful character that I would love to come to life and be real. You can feel her pouring her heart into this character in every scene. The film really shows her journey come into full circle which I was happy to see this end up doing.
It was also great to finally hear her use her natural Irish accent in a film rather than being heard in interviews.
All the supporting roles were great additions, and the big stand-out was Emory Cohen. After breaking out onto the movie industry in The Place Beyond The Pines, we see Cohen's sensitive and charming side that manages to gives us an enjoyable on-screen partnership with Ronan. Other performances that are worth mentioning come from Julie Walters who does what she does best, Domhnall Gleeson who gives us a surprising reserved performance and Jessica Pare and Brid Brennan who despite not having many moments on screen I thought were nice additions.
If I had to be nitpicking, I would say that the only drawback worth mentioning would be the third act that I felt was rushed. Thankfully it was only in parts and the other parts made it a satisfying ending.
It is safe to say that I came out of this feeling highly positive. The old-school construction to this film is such a refreshing thing to see on the big screen. It is carefully made with a lot of real emotion about a period that was becoming tough for a lot of young Irish people heading off to a brand new world.
Ronan is totally wonderful, manages to avoid sugar-coating this story and making it feeling genuine. I was totally invested, had my attention throughout and had me truly satisfied. It is utterly charming, has a wonderful feel-good factor whilst also gets really emotional at the right times.
You instantly believe you are in the 1950's and I can see this film being a contender for Best Costume, Make-Up and Production Design as well as Ronan for Best Actress.
A lot of people may call this the type of film you would take your grand-parents to. You would be right, but that is good thing as that means this is a universally appealing film that everyone can love.
Rating: 8/10
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