nikolova-assya

I haven't seen all of Saoirse Ronan's movies but she was impressive spoiled brat in the Atonement and since How I live now I really count her amongst the most promising actresses. So I watched Brooklyn to see her and she delivered once more. The scene at the end with Nettles Kelly was a powerful performance. Very graceful without any over the top reaching for dramatic effect. This what I loved over all about the film-the intimacy of the story. Just regular people dealing with regular problems, seeking a better future. Even death is not a dramatic exaggeration but a family matter that naturally stirs the fate of the family in a new direction. Also all the supporting cast performed magnificently, especially my favorite Mrs. Weasley, Julie Walters and co-star in HP, Jim Broadbent. But just as another part of the cast, the cinematography made the story look almost magical at moment with great shots of the Irish coast and the lovely choice of colours overall.

But there's a thing that I didn't quite like and this is how things unfolded in the love triangle. First of all I didn't find Tony sympathetic at all. But my problem was that the performance of Emory Cohen just didn't make the cut. At times I felt he was trying so hard "to be Italian" that I just didn't buy it. Also he was sweet and nice and respectful and all that, but besides he didn't feel to be a great match for the brave young girl that traveled across the world to find her fortune and goes to night classes so she can be an accountant one day. And forcing her to marry him so he can control her to come back, not nice dude, not nice. Especially as I felt she was a bit hesitant about her feelings for him. I know that's a way too modern outtake on a 50' lifestyle, but still I couldn't not notice it. And then comes my biggest issue with the plot- Domhnall Gleeson. I love the guy, he is very interesting and promising actor. So for me he did a great job here as well. I read somewhere that the movie made great work making you hate his character which left me in disbelief. His character was intelligent, well spoken young man who knows there is much more to life than his small town. So pairing him the newly bloomed into women power Eilis was very logical. I recognize that being married and having consummated it, there was not a lot of choice for Eilis but going back, but somehow I felt the story should be- a girl is young and inexperienced as well as homesick, meets a guy who makes her feel better, but then she blooms, she changes and maybe wants something different from life than being attached to an illiterate though good natured man. Instead the plot made an easier choice gossipy little backwards town vs the land of opportunities where the old simply didn't stand a chance. The same small town that was kind enough to offer her job immediately after she came back and everyone were so sweet after the loss of her sister, kind of flat, I should say. So ultimately it was a choice of where she will live and whom she will live to be and we got answer to the easier one.

But all that rant out of the way it was exquisite film that I enjoyed and recommend.

I love this line from the youtube series "honest trailer" - "they had the romance of a lifetime, expressed entirely in stares" in honor of the epic Twilight love flop. And this is what I was hoping not to see again in the Divergent series. There was too much supernatural soap opera going on the last couple of years, it's the time for something much less smooching and much more plot than chasing shirtless hotties. And here it comes - yes undeniably the romance is still on, but so far much more clean and painless. Beside that, the story offers some the food for thought, the point being how you build your character when you are young and how the choices make us who we are. It is to be argued if Tris is more or less or the same level of complexity as Katniss but definitely there is much less darkness to her than to the Hunger games' heroine and I must say this is very likable. So the story is quite real to keep you invested throughout the whole 2h of it. The end is nice though not much of a cliffhanger for the next movie. But the cast delivers quite engaging performance so you would love to see them again. I really enjoyed the progress of Shailene Woodley after "The spectacular now" and I believe there are more great performances from her to come. The rest of the cast was charming as well - very hateble villains, very reliable boyfriend, dedicated friends and above all - marvelous bad, bad, bad Kate Winslet. Enjoy this new series and don't forget - the easy way tends not be the right one.