It has been said that in Waiting for Godot nothing happens in the
first act, and in the second act nothing happens again. In Brooklyn
very little happens. Yet this movie
had the best opening weekend box office in Irish history – and I am not
surprised. It was adapted by Nick Hornsby from Colm
Toibin’s award-wining novel, Directed by the Irish playwright and associate
Director of the Donmar Warehouse, John Crowley, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim
Broadbent and Julie Walters. This is a very Irish production, with Brid
Kennan, Maeve McGrath, Fiona Glascott,
Nora-Jane Noone, Mary O’Driscoll, Karen
Ardiff, and Aine Ni Mhuiri providing
some of the many Irish female actors involved and Iarla O’Lionaird, a well
known Irish sean-nos singer, electrifies with his voice in a simple but moving
scene during Christmas lunch for down-and-outs.
The story is set in 1950’s South West
Ireland and in Brooklyn, as young Ellis crosses the Atlantic looking to fulfil her modest ambitions. I could
summarise the plot in three sentences, but I will not. It is a domestic drama with very
little drama. It is also
exquisite. The slow pace and lack of
adrenalin allow us to admire the colour palate, the design, costumes, music, and most of all the acting. Saoirse Ronan, who plays Ellis, has the
ability to hold our attention while doing nothing. Doctor Mark Kermode suggests
that the pupils of her eyes do the acting.
I say her performance is limpid; still and utterly transparent. I was reminded of Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone, in that
I could not take my eyes of her.
One of the things I love about Brooklyn is that it about good people. Ellis’s
mother and sister have only her best interests at heart. Julie Walters plays Mrs. Kehoe, the owner of a Brooklyn boarding house, sharp tongued but motherly, always looking
out for her ‘girls’. Jim Broadbent is a
Catholic priest who sheds no darkness. Emory Cohen is Tony, the Italian-American
who falls for Ellis, and treats her honourably.
Domhnall Gleeson’s Jim is also a good man. In fact the only malevolent character is a
shopkeeper, who in times of scarcity revels in her power. She eventually gets her own come-upance.
Does this mean there is no dramatic
tension? No, it does not. Because we care about Ellis we fear for her. Even if the threats are vague we hope that fate and those close to her will treat her well, and if she
makes a mistake we are anxious about the possible consequences. This
movie operates at a profoundly human, domestic level. So do most of us. We do not need murder, catastrophe or
tragedy to move us. The ordinary lives
of other people, if they are presented with credibility and conviction, are
enough to rouse our empathy and concern.
When I say that this is good movie I mean that to apply to every
level, artistic, technical and moral. I
heartedly commend it.
