67
Brooklyn showcases a number of appealing ingredients, but ultimately lacks an adequate story to prop them up.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
100
The movement of the story—from wrenching homesickness to blooming confidence and a smile on one’s stroll to work—elevates the movie into universal urban poetry.
80
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Without Ronan’s performance, Brooklyn might have left a sugary taste. But she is the ingredient that brings everything together: her calm poise anchors almost every scene and every shot.
70
A robust romantic drama, rich in history and full of emotion, Brooklyn fills a niche in which the studios once specialized, using a well-read and respected novel as the grounds for a tenderly observed tearjerker.
100
A heartbreaking and poignant story about choices, country, commitments, sacrifice, and love, Brooklyn is a superb, luminous, and bittersweet portrayal of who we are, where we’ve come from, where we’re going, and the places we call home.
80
The star of Brooklyn is Fiona Weir – not a person who appears on screen at any stage, but the woman who cast it.
100
The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy
Classily and classically crafted in the best sense by director John Crowley and screenwriter Nick Hornby, this superbly acted romantic drama is set in the early 1950s and provides the feeling of being lifted into a different world altogether, so transporting is the film’s sense of time and place and social mores.
Absolutely delightful. This story is heartbreakingly real even to this day for people who have to choose between their new country and their old. Ellis is played wonderfully by Saoirse Ronan, and the cinematography is absolutely beautiful.
Every performance in this film is pitch perfect, and the screenplay is incredibly well-balanced with just enough joy and just enough sorrow to make the viewing experience captivating and rewarding.
Saoirse Ronan is, as always, excellent. The film as a whole is heartbreaking, and sweet, and delightful all at once.
Brooklyn is a really lovely and touching film that follows Ellis Lacey's journey from Ireland to America. This film includes one of Saoirse Ronan's best performances, with her heart broken by loss and torn between the comfort of home and the hope and possibilities of a new environment.
Incredibly earnest and human. Saoirse Ronan is a powerhouse in everything that she is in, but this performance of hers, in particular, remains a standout. Very excited for John Crowley's next film, as his direction within the romance genre adds so much to the story.