From Enniscorthy to New York: the Film Club's reflections on ‘Brooklyn’

On 19^th November, about 15 of the newly resurrected film group met in the Burleigh Arms to discuss the film ‘Brooklyn’ made in 2015 from the acclaimed novel of the same name by the Irish writer Colm Tóibin.  The screenplay, apparently atTóibin’s insistence, was by Nick Hornby.  

Set in 1951, it is the story of a young Irish woman, Eilis Lacey, who emigrates from Enniscorthy (Tóibin’s home town) to Brooklyn, New York.  Life in Enniscorthy is limited, with her only job being in the nasty Miss Kelly’s grocery shop and with the stifling atmosphere of a small town.   Her move is orchestrated by her older sister Rose through the local church’s links with Father Flood in  Brooklyn.  She finds work in an up-market department store, studies book-keeping in the evenings, and lives in an all-Irish boarding house for young women, presided over by the redoubtable Mrs Kehoe. After a winter of crippling home-sickness, Eilis finds her feet, and at an Irish dance, meets Tony Fiorello, who is kind, sweet and totally smitten with her.  Then tragedy strikes – her beloved sister Rose dies unexpectedly, and Eilis travels home to be with her mother. Before she goes, however, Tony persuades her to marry him in secret – but at the City Hall, they bump into people with relatives in Enniscorthy. 

Back home, Eilis returns to a life she might have led- she takes Rose’s old job as a book-keeper, and her friend Nancy, who is shortly to be married, introduces her to Jim Farrell ("quite the catch", to quote Eilis’s mother).  Eilis throws herself into a new social life back home, sticking Tony’s letters in a drawer and not telling anyone that she is married.  However, Miss Kelly has heard of the marriage via the couple at New York City Hall, and threatens to reveal all. Eilis then confirms that she is indeed married, tearfully confesses to her mother, leaves Jim Farrell a farewell letter, and returns with all haste to Brooklyn to be reunited with Tony (but see below).  

Susan Shay introduced the film by saying not only how much she had enjoyed it, but that she thought it was crafted with such care in every respect. It was subtle in its use of lyrical language, restrained in showing tragedy, and clever in its use of light and costumes to contrast the colour and energy of Brooklyn with the drabness of Enniscorthy, where the Irish scenes were filmed. Even the arrival at Ellis Island and the flat where Tony’s family lived are heralded with bursts of light.   

This was Siorse Ronan’s first adult film (she shot to fame as a child in 'Atonement'), and Susan pointed out her wonderful use of non-verbal communication- indeed this is a film in which much is felt, but not much said.  The British actors Jim Broadbent (Father Flood) and Julie Walters (Mrs Kehoe) were superb as Irish-Americans, and the Christmas dinner scene with the Irish ‘down and outs’ and Irish singer was beautifully done.  Eilis’s mother was also masterfully understated in her grief for Rose, and again when Eilis tells her of her marriage and return to New York.  The experience of migration was subtly portrayed, with neither place being idealised, but rather showing how living elsewhere means that the home town is inevitably viewed through a different lens.   

Lots of points were brought up during a lively discussion, with everyone having enjoyed the film a great deal, and in some cases finding it tremendously emotional. We agreed that both the book and the film really understood the plight of women of the time in Ireland, and indeed the UK, including the inevitable caring daughter (Eilis’s brothers were in England so didn’t count). Such a ‘migration’ could also be between social classes, levels of education and cultures, and can be as dislocating as a move to a new country.   

We had an interesting discussion about the ending. In the film, Eilis clearly reunites with Tony, but in the book, although she returns to New York, Tóibin leaves it open as to her actions thereafter.   The Book Group had just read the sequel Long Island, involving most of same characters 20 years later. We all fervently hope that this will be filmed one day too!