Vampire Owl :: Let me see this. Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay; some big nominations right there.

Vampire Bat :: I told you that this is the right movie to be watched.

Vampire Owl :: Based on Brooklyn by Colm Toibin; so the novel is also there to read.

Vampire Bat :: But the last time you read a novel was when global warming hadn’t even started.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but I make exceptions, like with the Lich Queen.

Vampire Bat :: That was when she wrote the “poem of undead death” and you had to read it or be bitten by animated corpses which were worse than zombies.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but that still counts as reading.

Vampire Bat :: Saoirse Ronan is your favourite from Byzantium too; lets not forget that.

Vampire Owl :: Things are becoming clearer now…

Vampire Bat :: And City of Ember as well as Atonement which goes further back. Enough reasons there!

[Gets three cups of tea with jackfruit chips].

What is it about? :: In the 1950s, Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) lives with her sister and mother in a small town called Enniscorthy, along the South East coast of Ireland. As she is unable to find good work, her sister Rose (Fiona Glascott) writes to Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) in Brooklyn who arranges her travel to the United States of America in hope for a better tomorrow for her. Suffering from from seasickness and then homesickness, she has a troubled road to the new city far away. Despite the problems that she faces, there she joins the bookkeeping classes and also comes across Anthony Fiorello (Emory Cohen) whom she meets at a dance, and falls in love. But the sudden death of her sister will call her back to Ireland. The question remains about what she will choose after that incident – Enniscorthy or Brooklyn?

So what happens next? :: With her mother alone and hoping for someone to be there with her, Ellis, who is now Ellis Fiorello after getting married in Brooklyn, will choose not to reveal the news about her marriage to anyone and remain in Ireland. There she will meet again with her old friend Nancy (Eileen O’Higgins) whose wedding she hope to attend by extending her stay there, and she also meets another man, Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) again. She also manages to find work as an accountant where her sister used to work, and the choice becomes a lot more difficult. Can her love for the man whom she met at her worst times turned into the best make sure that she will go back to Brooklyn, or is it the newly found comfort back at home that works better for her heart and brain? Whatever it is, Ellis will have to make the choice.

The defence of Brooklyn :: There are not many love stories that are so smooth, and so effective, even at such slow pace. You will feel the beauty of the world that we see in this movie, visually for sure, and also otherwise. There has been the lack of good romantic movies in the recent past, as the degradation has always created more and more movies full booze and sex, and no real love. So, it is great to have a movie like this, in which you can feel the love, and enjoy the top level performances from the leading cast. The emotions are effective as well as beautiful here, and as we are taken to that certain time period, we will feel the need to be there too, with the people, the buildings and the nature itself; and there is a certain amount of happiness that the movie that leaves us with.

Positives and negatives :: Brooklyn might feel kind of slow, which can make it seem to be a little bit too long for the interests of some people. It is the old-fashioned love that reflects the nature of the age during which it is happening. It is a fine level of feel-good that we have here, and the fairy-tale love story that everyone would wish for, with all its simplicity. Saoirse Ronan makes that kind of impact, that we will fall in love with the life of this particular Irish girl. In the end, we are left with the much needed idea for the age, that true love succeeds, and returns where it deserves to be. Brooklyn surely has a huge heart, and its soul is at the right place; it is also smart and makes its point perfectly. It should be why an old-fashioned movie gets itself on top, facing all those movies which might seem ahead of it when we look at them. Brooklyn, without doubt deserves all the appreciation that it has earned.

Performers of the soul :: Saoirse Ronan has been an amazing actress, and right from her first few movies years ago, she has never failed to create an impression, and Brooklyn is no different. I first noticed her in City of Ember, and Byzantium happens to be my favourite movie featuring her. From the beginning to the end, it is her show that is going on here, going through the changes on her character which such perfection. She makes things feel so real, whether it is about the sadness, the romance or that feeling of happiness – all that twinkles in her eyes. It is into her world that we enters, and leave with bliss! I have felt that this one goes deep, and wished that she had won an Academy Award for this one. Meanwhile, Emory Cohen plays his role with no trouble, as the character becomes one memorable one; Domhnall Gleeson nicely joins in and makes the point.

How it finishes :: Brooklyn takes that beautiful message of true love to another level, as it remains sweet and cute throughout its run. It talks about why it matters to be with the person whom you have always loved no matter what comfort the other things can provide you with. In a new world in which people only look for one’s job, house, money and family name to get married, the movies that follow the old style of love become a lot relevant. These days, whether it is love marriage or arranged marriage, people have been too much focused on money, and living through such an age of self-proclaimed ancient, rich aristocratic people and families, we need movies like Brooklyn – for true love should be what the poets have written about, and not what these sex-romantic-comedies define for the new generation.

Release date: 4th November 2015
Running time: 112 minutes
Directed by: John Crowley
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Bríd Brennan, Jenn Murray, Fiona Glascott, Jessica Paré, Eileen O’Higgins, Emily Bett Rickards, Eve Macklin, Nora-Jane Noone, Michael Zegen, Paulino Nunes, James DiGiacomo, Christian de la Cortina, Ellen David, Eva Birthistle

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.