This is the perfect movie for a lazy afternoon.
Eilis (Saoire Ronan) discovers a new way of life in America. Learning to fit in, she loosens up, starts wearing rouge, sunglasses and starts a romance with a cute Italian boy. Everything seems perfect until a sad happening takes her to make the trip back home, where the nostalgia of her old life hits her. Her family, old friends, a new charming young man, the dream job and the pressuring welcoming of everyone there for her to stay. It was difficult not to become persuaded with the idea of never going back.
[spoiler alert!] To be honest, I was liking her life back in Ireland much more, there is a scene that makes her “wakeup”from the nostalgia laced dream and jolts her to go back to Brooklyn… but it didn’t convince me at all. It seemed like something silly and not powerful enough for her to realize she didn’t want to stay there. Just because an old lady wanted to blackmail her? That woman is shown as evil from the start and certainly doesn’t portray the entire village’s people like the movie inferred.
The unconvincing plot aside, Saoire Ronan is amazing as Eilis and this was certainly a great roll for her career. She seems comfortable and right in place. Domhnall Gleeson, plays the charming Irish man back home that almost convinces her to stay; He certainly convinced me! The first performance of Domhall I’ve ever seen was in Ex-Machina (review here) and he was great then, glad to see him doing well in such a different roll. Emory Cohen, the sweet smiling Italian guy that steal Eilis’s heart, however, was conflicting to me. I wasn’t sure if I found him more cute or just plain annoying with his silly smiles and shy mannerisms. But he was certainly head over heels in love with Eilis.
I give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a good casual movie. But beware, it’s a bit of tear jerker!
Have you seen this? Will you?
XO,
