Hi everyone! This episode of The CineAmerican Dream podcast will discuss the 2015 film Brooklyn and its narrative of immigration and the American Dream.
Based on a novel by Colm Toibin and directed by John Crowley, Brooklyn tells the story of an Irish immigrant in the 1950s and her complex experience of being torn between a new life of opportunity in Brooklyn and the familiarity of home. This film is a departure from the common trope of immigrant narratives by offering the main character a chance to leave America and turn home. The story follows Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan as Eilis Lacey, a young woman from Enniscorthy, Ireland, who immigrants to Brooklyn, New York to start a new life. Eilis struggles with belonging in the crowded and overwhelming but finds belonging among her friends at work as well as Italian-American Tony Fiorello, who she begins a relationship with. Right as Eilis becomes comfortable in Brooklyn, tragedy strikes, and she is forced to return home. Torn between familiarity alongside fellow Enniscorthy native Jim Farrell and freedom with Tony, Eilis must make a difficult choice between the known and the unknown. What will she pick? — and what does that mean for her future?
Listen to Taylor and Luiza’s takes in today’s edition, as they explore the visuals of the film, stylistic choices of cinematography, the unique depiction of the American immigrant experience, and Eilis’ transformation by the end of the film.
