With cinemas closing their doors, now more than ever is a great chance to break down my ever expanding Netflix/Prime lists. Therefore, where better to start than with this underappreciated 2015 gem.

Ellis (Saorise Ronan) is a young woman working in a shop in County Wexford, but she wants more in her life. When her sister gets her the chance, she moves to Brooklyn. The first part of the film sees her on the boat, struggling as she makes her way across the Atlantic. However, once she meets a fellow immigrant who just came back to Ireland briefly, life becomes much easier. While a small thing, this early scene establishes a sense of community which carries on throughout.

Once we get to Brooklyn, Ellis lives in a devout cathoilc’s house with other young immigrants. While their relationship starts off cold, very soon she builds bonds with them and starts to thrive. She gets over her homesickness and really settles in. It only gets better when she meets young Italian man Tony (Emory Cohen).

There is a tonal change half way through as Ellis returns home to a much better situation where she has to make a choice of Brooklyn or County Wexford.

The whole story has such a warmth to it. It’s so pleasant that all of these characters want one another to succeed. Everything is really well lit and the music is always upbeat. There isn’t some sort of great villain and there doesn’t need to be.

Saorise Ronan brings along her contagious performances of hope and hapiness. As always she is absolutely fantastic. But let that take nothing away from everyone else. This whole cast was stellar. There was no shouting, but this film was fantastically understated and emotional.

Summary

Brooklyn provides a nicely paced enjoyable film which is also packed with depth. An underappreciated gem, it really is what you want in a Sunday night film. [Grade: A-]