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Before Matt Damon was The Talented Mr. Ripley, there was Alain Delon #book2movies

Brooklyn starring Saoirse Ronan: So far away. #Book2movies

Saoirse Ronan as Eilis Lacey in Brooklyn

Wow! I've been watching and waiting for a trailer for Brooklyn, the Saoirse Ronan film based on Colm Toibin's book for so long. I thought we'd get something when Brooklyn made its debut—to glowing reviews—at Sundance this past January but no. I just learned I might as well chillax; the movie won't get released here in the states until November 6th. That's smack dab in the middle of awards season, and yep, there's already buzz for Saoirse Ronan's performance. Still, kind of a bummer as I've been following the production and really didn't expect to have to wait so long. It's one of the Ten Books I Can't Wait to See onscreen this year.

 If you've not read the book, here's the storyline via B&N:
It is Enniscorthy in the southeast of Ireland in the early 1950s. Eilis Lacey is one among many of her generation who cannot find work at home. Thus when a job is offered in America, it is clear to everyone that she must go. Leaving her family and country, Eilis heads for unfamiliar Brooklyn, and to a crowded boarding house where the landlady’s intense scrutiny and the small jealousies of her fellow residents only deepen her isolation.
Slowly, however, the pain of parting is buried beneath the rhythms of her new life — until she begins to realize that she has found a sort of happiness. As she falls in love, news comes from home that forces her back to Enniscorthy, not to the constrictions of her old life, but to new possibilities which conflict deeply with the life she has left behind in Brooklyn.
In the quiet character of Eilis Lacey, Colm Tóibín has created one of fiction’s most memorable heroines and in Brooklyn, a luminous novel of devastating power. Tóibín demonstrates once again his astonishing range and that he is a true master of nuanced prose, emotional depth, and narrative virtuosity.
I read Brooklyn ages ago but never wrote up my take. Too late now, I suppose, as my memories have evolved to a pleasant haze except to say I could relate to the rather shy Eilis feeling isolated and adrift, out of sync with her fellow residents at the boarding house. Leaving home for the first time, away from familiar faces and patterns can be incredibly lonely, especially when you're an ocean away from your support system, without the benefit of Skype and daily texting home the way it is nowadays. At the same time it can be exciting to be in a whole new world, with no one but yourself to define who you are and what your role is in your new world. It was wonderful to see Eilis evolve and grow, becoming more and more confident and eventually she falls in love with a brash young New Yorker, Tony, an Italian-American who is played in the movie by Emory Cohen. Later, when she returns home for a visit, she reunites with Jim, the young owner of a local pub, she knows from before. Domhnall Gleeson plays Jim in the film, and gives Eilis something to think about. Jim Broadbent plays Father Flood, the priest who finds Eilis her job in America.

 I'm especially excited to see what Nicky Hornby has done with the script.

 November 6th. That's a full 9 months from today. I'll post the trailer and new images as their released. In the meantime catch up with my past posts including the image gallery showing the lovely Irish setting for the film. So beautiful!