Brooklyn - A Review

Source: The Independent

There are a number of films I love that are extremely underrated. One of them is Brooklyn, directed by John Crowley, based on the book of the same name by Colm Tóibín. This film has so many motifs I love in movies: romance, empowerment, history. I decided to do another film review as I looked through my film list, and noticed I hadn't watched this one for a while. Watching it again, I really feel Saoirse Ronan was robbed of an Oscar here - but I haven't seen Room before, so I can't judge Brie Larson. I might just be a little biased here. Saoirse Ronan is one of my favourite actresses, and I've loved every movie I've seen her in. This one's special.

The film begins in a small town in Ireland in 1951, where the Saoirse Ronan's character, Eilis (pronounced like "ay-lish"), works weekends at a shop owned by a Miss Kelly as she is unable to find full-time employment. Her sister, Rose, tries to help by writing to an Irish priest in New York, Father Flood, to see if Eilis can start afresh there instead. I won't lie, the first eight minutes of the film are little bit...boring. I don't know if that was the intent, but it does somewhat make sense - Eilis' life is pretty boring. It's not until she boards the ship to New York that it starts to get a little interesting. She meets her temporary roommate, Georgina (whose name was not actually mentioned in the film, but I only learnt because I read the book), an assertive and experienced traveller. While Georgina decides to explore the First Class cabins in an attempt to bunk in there, probably through sexual favours, Eilis tries to make herself comfortable. She explores the confines of her Third Class cabin, which involve sharing a single toilet and shower between herself, Georgina and two other girls in the next room. She even has a nice meal of mutton stew in the Third Class cafeteria. Little did she know that was a dumb idea. She ends up locked out of her bathroom by the girls in the next room, and has to both relieve herself and throw up - due to seasickness - into a pail from the outside corridor. Georgina returns the next day and takes pity on Eilis, deciding to take her under her wing for the rest of the trip. She orders Eilis not to eat or drink anything except for water until the last night to counter the seasickness, and before arriving, she dresses Eilis so that she wouldn't look sickly at the immigration counter. I guess it's not a surprise that motion sickness tablets weren't a popular preventive medicine at the time.

Thanks to Father Flood, not only did Eilis get the necessary documents for a visa, he also secured a job for her at a local department store and a place for her to live in - *ding ding* - Brooklyn! Eilis moves into a boarding house with a number of other Irish girls, each with different personalities and backgrounds, the house being run by a Mrs Kehoe, played by Julie Walters. I remember being stunned when I heard Julie Walters speaking in an Irish accent. Up until this point, the only films I had seen her in were the Harry Potter films and the Mamma Mia! films - hearing her say a prayer in a strong Irish accent nearly made me laugh with shock. From what I gathered, boarding houses like this weren't uncommon. A similar concept was done in Season 1 of Marvel's Agent Carter. Doing a little bit of research, I learnt that all-women's boarding houses were set up for women who wanted to move away from home, or immigrants, and they often had very strict rules. Although religion was not as popular anymore in the 1950s, the traditions stuck: men were not allowed in women's rooms. 

Eilis initially struggles when she starts at the department store, perhaps partly due to the lack of proper character. When I went to New York in 2014, something I noticed about all of the workers there was that they all had a very friendly disposition, and they always wanted to strike up a conversation with you to keep your attention. I guess that's what Eilis lacked, making her a target for her boss. She doesn't realise it at first, but she starts to suffer homesickness, causing Father Flood to meet with her. He suggests that she start night classes to study book-keeping, and to take part in the Christmas dinner that he holds for Irish senior citizens who are mostly men. Father Flood explains to Eilis that these men have lived in America for a long time, being the ones who built the bridges and tunnels. I decided to look into this to see who made up the demographics of construction workers around this time. There was a very famous image taken in 1932 known as "Lunch atop a Skyscraper," which...sorta gave me a bit of a fright just looking at. From what I gathered, the majority of the workers were made up of men from minority groups. Some were of Irish origin, some were of Eastern European origin, and some were even Native American. 20 years later and anyone who wasn't essentially a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) would be viewed as subpar - even if they were the ones who helped build the the city.

Lunch atop a Skyscraper

One thing that was pointed out in the beginning of the film was that Eilis couldn't find a boyfriend in Ireland. This changes when she arrives in Brooklyn. She meets Italian-American Tony, a plumber, at an Irish dance, and the two hit it off right away. This improves Eilis' customer service behaviour, becoming more confident and charming. Even her boss is impressed. Soon, Tony invites Eilis to meet his family, all of which subtly hint their slight prejudice against the Irish community. Tony's outspoken youngest brother says that it's because "a big gang of Irish beat [Tony's brother, Maurizio] up and he had to have stitches, and because all the cops round here are Irish, nobody did anything about it." Even though Tony's parents and siblings tell him off for what he said, it does hint that there is some rivalry between the Irish and the Italians in America. I honestly thought this was weird because they were both minority groups in America and they were both predominantly Catholic as well, but after doing a bit of research, it started to make a bit more sense. The Irish arrived in America around the 1840s as a result of the potato famine, but around the early 1880s, Italian immigrants arrived in New York in large numbers to look for work, and they were willing to work longer hours for less money. The competition led to a fight for dominance in New York. Even Catholic churches became grounds for competition - priests were typically Irish, and Irish communities refused to allow Italians to join public Masses, forcing them to attend their own Mass in basements. Yet as Italian-Americans began to gain more popularity and wealth, there was a change in relationship between the two groups, especially after the Second World War, which coincidentally is sort of when Brooklyn takes place! I guess Eilis and Tony's relationship was meant to be symbolic of this change.

When Eilis receives news that Rose had suddenly passed away, she has to make preparations to return to Ireland to help her mother. There is no knowing at this point whether the move is meant to be permanent or temporary. Not taking any chances, Eilis and Tony secretly elope at a courthouse, where they meet another Irish couple. Reader, bear in mind that this is extremely scandalous and many might have accused them of being damned to Hell. You read that right. Eilis returns to Ireland and takes on Rose's job of book-keeping, eventually being introduced to wealthy bachelor Jim, played by Domhnall Gleeson. While she may develop some feelings for him, she doesn't feel committed to him, primarily due to her own secret relationship with Tony. Miss Kelly calls on Eilis to meet with her, who tells her that she knows from some gossip that Eilis is actually married...because of the Irish couple Eilis met in the courthouse. Recognising the toxity of her town, she tells her mother that she is married and intends to return to Brooklyn, leaving a letter for Jim. The film comes full circle on the ship. Just as Georgina took Eilis under her wing, Eilis helps another girl making her first journey to America, giving the same advice Georgina gave her. Eilis and Tony reunite when she returns to Brooklyn, happily in each other's arms.

I really think this film is seriously underrated. There's just so much about it that's amazing. Eilis' character development is stunning, transforming from a timid, shy girl to an assertive, confident woman. Many might know that I have a somewhat unpopular opinion about feminism, but I do love a feel-good empowerment type of film. I don't think one necessarily has to be a feminist to be in favour of gender equality (I'm an egalitarian). Just as we have films that depict confident men, it's good to have films that depict confident women. Preferably without the rage-y social justice stuff. That's what I love about Brooklyn so much. By the end of the movie, Eilis is a charming and feminine woman, but she is still confident. She shows that not everything in life has to revolve around marriage, but that if a woman chooses to do so, she is just as respectable as a woman who chooses not to. Feminists, take note.