Directed by: John Crowley
Starring: Saorise Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Julie Walters, Michael Zegen, Jim Broadbent, Fiona Glascott
Brooklyn evokes emotions that many can understand and Saorise Ronan's Oscar-nominated performance is truly remarkable. But, wow, did it lose its way in the third act. It doesn't recover. The late, great Roger Ebert discussed Idiot Plot often. His exact words: "Any plot with problems that would be solved instantly if all of the characters were not idiots." The main character Eilis (Ronan) is no idiot. But in the third act she conceals a crucial bit of information that would remove a lot of headaches and conflict if she simply revealed it. Maybe she doesn't reveal it because she wants the best of both worlds. If that's the case, then she behaves cruelly to two men who do not deserve it. This is a 180 from the woman who we grow to care about.
The movie opens in early 1950s rural Ireland. Eilis is in her early 20s working some menial jobs, but not realizing her potential. Her loving older sister Rose (Glascott) hooks her up with a place to stay and a job in Brooklyn. Eilis, knowing she will not amount to much in her home country, journeys to New York leaving all she has ever known behind. Brooklyn handles these scenes and emotions just right. I moved cross country in 2000 and I could relate to Eilis' feelings. I'm sure many can.
Eilis settles into her job in a boarding house run by the strict Mrs. Kehoe (Walters), who keeps a watchful eye on the girls in her charge. Due to her homesickness, Eilis flounders at first at her job in a department store, but with the help of a kindly priest and an even more sympathetic supervisor, she excels. The priest even enrolls her in night accounting classes at the local college. All of this doesn't cost her a dime. What a country.
Eilis meets Tony (Cohen), a working class plumber, at a local dance. They spend time together, get to know one another, and then fall in love. He is sweet, kind, and worships the ground she walks on. They agree to marry in secret, which they do right before Eilis needs to return to Ireland after a sad death in her family. It is during this stretch in which Brooklyn becomes a head scratcher. In Ireland, Eilis encounters a suitor in Jim Farrell (Gleeson), a local rugby player whom Eilis had a crush on before departing for America. Jim and Eilis go on dates and see each other. Eilis receives heartfelt letters from Tony that she throws in a drawer unanswered. During this whole time, she does not tell Jim or even her friends and family that "SHE IS MARRIED!" She instead treats Jim and Tony cruelly in her own way. We are supposed to sympathize with her, I suppose, because she is torn between two men. But, let's face it, she isn't being very fair. Why the big secret anyway? What compels her to act that way? We don't know. It is frustrating watching Eilis avoid the obvious explanation that could settle matters in a hurry.
Things are eventually resolved more or less. However, we are left with a bad taste in our mouth about Eilis. For the first two-thirds of Brooklyn, she is strong, caring, determined to better herself, and we like her. We want her to find happiness with Tony, who is a guy with no flaws except that he is Italian and Eilis never ate pasta before. Their courtship and eventual relationship is tender and sweet. It helps her with her homesickness. We are on the verge of a quiet, yet identifiable story.
Then comes her return trip to Ireland and everything is undone. It is a pity. The performances are real. The film has potential to be special, but then Eilis behaves in ways that blindside us. Jim comes about forty years too early for The Wedding Singer, but he would agree with Adam Sandler's reply to his fiancée's explanation for ditching their wedding. "This is something that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!"
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