Brooklyn Movie

On Sunday afternoon I decided to go to the cinema, purchase a movie ticket for one a large pop-corn and soda. Brooklyn is a movie that takes place during the 1950’s. Eilis Lacey is the protagonist who struggles with homesickness as she relives the typically Irish immigrant experience in America during these times. The story of Eilis Lacey who migrates from Ireland to Brooklyn with support and sponsorship from her Church is truly heartfelt. Eilis a beautiful young lady with clear blue eyes, rose cheeks and a pleasant smile. The protagonist takes a leap of faith and decides to move to New York City. She lives in a boarding house among several young ladies who also left their hometowns to begin a new life in Brooklyn. What resonated with me in this beautiful and very touching movie was the conceptual notion of “home”. We often ask where is home? And always wonder of what defines home? Home is a broad term most of us use. Some relate the notion of home to birthplace, childhood memories, where one grows up and where we reside. But others like myself might have had two and sometimes three homes.

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“Home sickness is like most sicknesses. It will pass.”Father Flood.

Brooklyn is my home. Egypt is also my home. Despite Eilis Lacey’s desire to settle in a new home miles and miles away from where she grew up, her relationship with “home” shifts as she struggles to come to terms with the consequences of living in two places – both physically and emotionally. Ambiguously, home represents a place of divided and uncertain loyalties.“Home”seems to lack something that separates her from complete fulfillment and that continues to dog her throughout her personal journey.

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When I watched the movie I couldn’t help but think how home is interchangeable from one definition to the other and from one person to the next. Eilis feels lonesome and aches for home as soon as she arrives to Brooklyn, she reminds me of myself when I moved to Brooklyn. She tries to acquaint herself with Irish fellows in New York, but soon realizes there is much more to Brooklyn than the bubble of Irish dances she left home. There is room for growth and acceleration in her new home, Brooklyn. She makes a good living and works hard making her way up everyday like most of us do in New York City.

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What hit the spot and brought me to tears in this film was the authenticity of Brooklyn where you make friends easily, who soon become family, get promoted at work if you work hard. And Brooklyn is where you find deep and true love.

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I loved this movie and would give it a Five Star rating. Most of us feel weary and tired in this city longing for our homes and where we were brought up. We sometimes may feel that the city does not love us back, which is never true. It is a difficult city for a reason, and a great one too. Maybe home is where we are now, at this particular moment. And maybe the home we were familiar with is merely a recollection of memories, dreams and nostalgia. This movie made me feel at ease with myself where one can create their own home, life and story and make the most out of it.

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Home captures and reflects Eilis’s Journey and her dilemmas. The search for a new “home” is both within her grasp owing to a plethora of new opportunities but it also becomes elusive because of the constant invasion of her past and the memories associated with place.“Home” is therefore a place of prospective happiness and security but also the place of loss and disappointment and lack of ambition. Brooklyn is available in most theaters in New York City, make sure you watch it 🙂

November 27, 2015.