Brooklyn: A Mars vs Venus review

Brooklyn: A Mars vs Venus review

MARS

This is not my kind of thing - at all.

The critics love it and it has been nominated for three Oscars (Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay), but it leaves me completely underwhelmed.

Brooklyn is as bland as bland can be, and so smug in its sense of good taste.

Such a sensitive, nuanced script. Such subtle performances. Such finely crafted costumes and settings.

Blah.

I have complained for years about the dearth of truly romantic films coming out of Hollywood.

We get goofy romantic comedies instead of true romances.

The romances I love are set against a backdrop of darkness and danger, like the classic Notorious (1946) with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

I also appreciate the more fantastical and imaginative love stories like Edward Scissorhands (1990).

A romance should be larger than life. Epic. Grand.

Brooklyn is a tiny little thing.

Speaking as a little person - I do not need films about us little people, thanks.

A humble Irish immigrant and her simple Italian boyfriend. Wow.

And guess what? He is a plumber.

Calculated to impress, careful not to offend, classy to the point of absurdity, Brooklyn is the very definition of Oscar bait.

VENUS

Ronan has been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar.

She will not win it at the upcoming awards ceremony on Feb 28, but the honour is absolutely deserving.

This simple movie about finding one's identity and forging your own destiny would not have been engaging if not for Ronan.

The Irish lass first impressed as a kid in Atonement (2007) and she thrilled again in Hannah (2011).

Brooklyn is Ronan's most heartfelt and sincere work to date.

Not only does she command the screen with her beauty, she brings much emotion with subtle gestures such as a fleeting glance, her impassioned gaze or slight nuances of body language.

Newcomer Cohen is also a revelation as Tony, the devoted love interest who wears his heart on his sleeve.

Cohen makes Tony so genuine and adorable that when the requisite love triangle comes in the form of Eilis' countryman, the earnest Jim (Gleeson), you cannot help but feel miserable for Tony.

Broadbent lends weight as Eilis' trusted priest Father Flood and so does Fiona Glascott as Eilis' elder sister Rose.

The production set and costumes are also commendable.

But much like how The Revenant benefitted from Leonardo DiCaprio's strong acting, Brooklyn thrives solely on Ronan's powerful central performance.

STARRING: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent

DIRECTOR: John Crowley

THE SKINNY: Irish immigrant Eilis Lacey (Ronan) lands in 1950s New York in search of a new and better life. Settling into her adopted city Brooklyn proves to be more difficult than expected due to homesickness. She struggles hard to fit in, until she meets Italian-American plumber Tony (Cohen) and starts to blossom into a confident young woman.

RATING: NC16

THE CONSENSUS: Brooklyn is far from a chore for the girls, but a snore for the guys.


This article was first published on January 17, 2016.
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