Image via Coming Soon
I’m very fortunate that the good folks at ThinkJam Media contacted me and offered a free copy of Brooklyn on Blu-ray if I would do a review. Sorry to say this is a bit late, but I had to power through the book first! I really enjoyed the book and gave it 4 stars in my review. I watched the movie in celebration of my birthday on Thursday and was really blown away. Beware of spoilers below.
Things I Thought Were Awesome
Tony. He was perfect, just how I imagined him. I had a movie crush on this Tony to be sure. He was a great mix of confident and vulnerable and exactly how I pictured him. He looked the part, too. It was great casing.
Seeing Rose react to Eilis’s letters. These almost had me in tears knowing how the book would end. Seeing Rose miss her sister so much and knowing that Rose was sick were heart wrenching. I may have teared up a few times.
Watching Eilis change. She looks so different from the beginning to the end of the film and I loved that touch. She learned to do her hair and makeup so that when she went back to Ireland, she looked so different from the other girls. It really emphasized how much Brooklyn hand changed her.
Changes That Didn’t Really Bother Me
Taking the brothers out. Other than Jack, the brothers didn’t do much in the story. Jack’s main purpose was to ask Eilis to go home and I honestly thought it was a weak excuse in the book. The boys could just as easily have stayed home. (Ugh, gender roles.) It was a clean cut in my mind.
The ending. It was more of an ending, if not the one I would have written. I think screenwriter Nick Hornby knew that moviegoers would want a little more resolution than the book had. Even opening the letters from Tony was enough for me! I knew he wasn’t dead, haha. The scene with the girl traveling to Brooklyn for the first time was a great way of wrapping up and emphasizing how Eilis now belongs in America.
Book image via Goodreads.com
Things That Were Taken Out and I’m Still Wondering Why
The bathing suit scene. I found this scene really disturbing because of how uncomfortable Eilis was. It was well written and I felt the discomfort Eilis experienced. I did think the scene in the book needed more follow-up to it, though, so maybe it’s better that it’s cut. It bothered me a bit that there was a bit of it remaining. I would have cut the whole thing rather than leave the trail that was in the movie.
Mrs. Kehoe and Eilis’s fight. I felt that the fight was another thing keeping Eilis in Ireland. She was unhappy with where she was living and Ireland seemed so comfortable for her. In my mind, it added to her thinking Ireland was home and not wanting to return to New York.
Things That Changed Too Much
Not kissing Jim. I hated this part of the book, but I hate it more taken out. Going back to Tony seem so obvious when she and Jim aren’t very involved with each other. It was too easy without the more blatant romantic connection.
Rose’s death. It was too much to see her on the floor. In the book, she died in bed while sleeping and Mrs. Lacey thought she overslept. The scene in the book was almost too violent for me. I didn’t like it.
Standing up to Ms. Kelly. I thought this was too much for Eilis. She was a passive character so it made no sense to see her stand up to someone like Ms. Kelly. She was too nervous to tell her mother she was married, how is she brave enough to admit it to her old boss? I liked her walking out silently instead.
I’m so glad I got a copy of this movie. It’s one I can see myself watching again. Reader, have you see the Brooklyn movie? What did you think?
Until next time, write on.
Taking On a World of Words 