Brooklyn

The movie Brooklyn is based on the novel of the same name by Irish novelist Colm Tóibín.  While I haven’t read this particular novel, I have read three other works by Tóibín, and know him to be an excellent word smith.  The story follows a young woman, an Irish immigrant to New York, who falls in love with an Italian fellow in the U.S., but whose romantic life becomes complicated when she returns to Ireland for a visit after the death of her sister.  The film puts many themes in opposition:  Ireland vs America, small town vs city life, immigrant vs native.  In the end, our heroine, Eilis Lacey by name, must choose where she truly belongs. 

The film was shot in Ireland as well as New York’s Coney Island, but apparently the part of New York City was played by Montreal.  The film debuted at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and caused a three-way bidding war which Fox Searchlight won in one of the largest deals to ever come out of Sundance.  The movie opened in a limited release on November 4^th, 2015, and in wide-release on November 25^th of that year.  The film grossed $187,281 in its opening weekend (remember, a limited release), and has grossed over $32 million in the two months since, easily repaying Fox Searchlight for its $9 million investment.

Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan stars as Eilis, and has been nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress for this role.  As a twelve-year-old, Ronan auditioned for and won the role of Briony Tallis in Joe Wright’s movie Atonement.  For this she was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress, one of the youngest ever nominated. Born in New York City, the daughter of Irish immigrant parents, she first went to Ireland at age 3.   She holds joint U.S./Irish citizenship and has acted in many films including The Lovely Bones and The Grand Budapest Hotel, where she plays the leading lady, Agatha.  Brooklyn is her first chance to play a role that is so close to her own story, her first “Irish” role.  Tóibín, writing in New York Magazine, says this about the actress:

The Ronans, on their return, came to live close to my town in Ireland. In fact, as Saoirse was growing up, they used to go to my local cinema. Thus she knows the inflections of my town, the tiny details of behavior and the mannerisms. But she knows something else, too, which sets her apart and gives her a sort of distance, a grandeur. She seems to have a real sense of her own almost ethereal beauty. You notice this when she comes into a room. She has a way of holding herself apart, controlling the light, controlling the response of those who turn to watch her.

Valentine’s Day is this weekend, and this universally acclaimed film seems like the perfect chance for a romantic evening with your loved one.  Brooklyn plays Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 12^th -14^th, 2016, with showtimes at 8:00 p.m. each evening.  The movie runtime is 111 minutes, just shy of two hours.  And by the way, Saoirse is pronounced “Sear-sha” by Irish people, but the actress herself prefers “Ser-sha, like inertia.”  It’s Gaelic for “freedom.”

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

BROOKLYN PG-13
February 12 - 14

KUNG FU PANDA 3 PG
February 19 - 21

THE FINEST HOURS PG-13
February 26 - 28
REVENANT R
March 4 - 6
RISEN PG-13
March 11 - 13

In the interest of full disclosure:  I have no connection to the Llano Theatre.  I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.