FASHION AND MUSIC THROWBACK IN WINNING MOVIE “BROOKLYN”

Press release

 Brought to life with the dreamlike shadings of a love poem, “Brooklyn” unfolds in two distinctly atmospheric worlds:  one amid the cloistered, muted beauty of Enniscorthy, Ireland and the other in the bustling chaos of New York’s Brooklyn, the frequent first stop of many immigrants to America, starring Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen and Domhnall Gleeson who make up the film’s love triangle.

 

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox/RatPac Entertainment

                The entirety of “Brooklyn” builds to the life-altering decisions Eilis (Ronan) must make:  between Tony (Cohen) and Jim (Gleeson), between Brooklyn and Ireland, between her past and what she wants for her future.   Everyone involved knew from the start that the story hinged on the uncertainty of her ultimate choice. 

                Helping to recreate the era in the minds of actors were the beautiful clothes sourced and created by Odile Dicks-Mireaux to evoke the inimitable elegance and grace of 1950s New York.   She was thrilled to step back into that era.  “It was a complete pleasure to work with these characters,” says Dicks-Mireaux, “and there was so much craftsmanship and invention in the 1950s period.” 

                The early era of street photography, especially work by the mysterious Vivian Maier and iconic New York shooter Elliott Erwitt, inspired Dicks-Mireaux with their candid shots of transient city moments.  However, she avoided even glancing at the couture of the era. 

                “John’s specific edict was to not look at any fashion magazines because this is a story of real people – of working class girls trying to make their living in New York,” she explains. “In every aspect of the film, John wanted the look to be very natural and real.”

                Dicks-Mireaux especially enjoyed contrasting fashionable Brooklyn, of which Eilis is soon a part, with the more austere dress of Enniscorthy. “There was a huge difference between America and Ireland in those post-war years,” she explains.  “The styles could not have been more distinct which is perfect for the story we’re telling.  In America it was a time of rich color – reds, caramels and yellow ochres, pinks and pale colors – that just did not exist then in Ireland.”

                An equal contributor to the film’s transporting atmosphere is the music, led by an aching score from Michael Brook (Into The Wild, The Fighter).  There is also a transcendent musical moment -- when Eilis volunteers to serve Christmas lunch to downtrodden Irish immigrants, only to be enraptured by one homesick man’s stirring Irish lament.

Colm Tóibín told Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey that the unique voice of Irish singer Iarla Ó Lionáird had been a particular inspiration to him while writing that scene.  Inspired themselves, they approached Ó Lionáird and were delighted to be able to bring him to Montreal to perform “Casadh an Tsúgáin” live on the set. 

                Ó Lionáird fully understood why it would impact Eilis so deeply. “It’s a love song, in which the repeating chorus talks about a man asking the woman to define in what way she’s connected to him,” he explains.  “That resonates for Eilis, in that she’s connected to two worlds. In the song, the man is asking the woman ‘if you’re with me, you’re with me’ and he says ‘be with me in front of everybody, show everybody, be clear.’ She has to step into her own future and to decide what that is.” 

                Ronan was as moved as Eilis is during the scene.  “Through this incredible voice, Iarla was able to communicate every emotion that you go through when you’re away from home,” she says.

                “Brooklyn” opens today, January 27 exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Trinoma, Alabang Town Center, Greenbelt3, Market!Market!, Fairview Terraces) from 20^th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros.

IRISH ACTOR DOMHNALL GLEESON STARS IN “THE REVENANT’ AND “BROOKLYN”

Press release

IRISH ACTOR DOMHNALL GLEESON STARS IN TWO STRONG OSCAR CONTENDERS –

“THE REVENANT’ AND “BROOKLYN”

Rapidly rising Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson stars in “The Revenant” and “Brooklyn” – two of this year’s strong Oscar contenders.   Gleeson , who has been coming to the fore as one of the most versatile actors of a new generation with roles in  “About Time,” “Calvary,” “Unbroken,” “Ex Machina” and in “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” goes from unshaven in his role as Captain Henry in “The Revenant” to all-dapper in “Brooklyn.”

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

                In “The Revenant” by Oscar winner filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Leonardo DiCaprio takes on the title role,   plays the role of Captain Andrew Henry, a real-life historical figure who was one of the founders of the Rocky Mountain Trading Company and a leader of the expedition up the Missouri River.

                Inspired by true events, “The Revenant” is an epic story of survival and transformation on the American frontier.  While on an expedition into the uncharted wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally mauled by a bear, then abandoned by members of his own hunting team. Alone and near death, Glass refuses to succumb.  Driven by sheer will and his love for his Native American wife and son, he undertakes a 200-mile odyssey along with Henry’s (Gleeson) soldiers through the vast and untamed West on the trail of the man who betrayed him: John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).  What begins as a relentless quest for revenge becomes a heroic saga against all odds towards home and redemption. 

                For Domhnall Gleeson, playing the role of Fitzgerald’s disappointed Captain, it was thrilling to go up against Hardy as Captain Henry realizes he has been duped.  “Tom has brought an edge to Fitzgerald where you never know which way he’s going to go,” Gleeson says.  “My character feels beaten down by Fitzgerald, but then he starts to hold his ground – and it was really exciting to go toe-to-toe with Tom.”

                Gleeson notes that the script gives Captain Henry a fictionalized arc beyond what history knows of him.  “The real Andrew Henry was respected, whereas in this story you see him as an uncertain man learning to be leader. He goes on a journey, growing into the man he was said to be,” he explains.  From the start, Gleeson understood the film was going to be a purposefully challenging experience.  “Before we even started shooting, Alejandro said he wanted it to be a tough experience for the actors – and he was true to his word.  We were put in unusual circumstances and challenging conditions but it was exciting because it was so different,” he comments.  “I certainly have never done anything like it before.  There’s an exhilaration to making a movie in a way that people just don’t make movies anymore.” 

                Gleeson says the roughness of the shoot enriched the performances.  “My character is meant to find his circumstances horribly difficult, he’s meant to feel out of place and so I poured everything I was experiencing into the performance,” he explains.  “You hope that ultimately the size of all that these men contended with --- the desperation, the madness and uncertainty -- will feel present in the movie theater.”

                From the cold and ruthless forest in “The Revenant,” Gleeson dons neatly pressed suits as Jim Farrell in “Brooklyn” where he plays opposite Saoirse Ronan who plays Eilis, an Irish immigrant in America who must choose between two countries, two men and two destinies.  

 

                Eilis’ Irish lover, Jim Farrell (Gleeson), had to be both an opposite attraction and a legitimate threat to Eilis’ New York lover, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen).  Gleeson knew he, too, had to find a subtle but visceral chemistry with Saoirse Ronan, to put the question mark in the audience’s mind.  “Life in Brooklyn may offer Eilis more, but it was my job to make Jim seem worth staying in Ireland for,“ he says. “I really wanted to create a connection with Saoirse that you would feel is worth fighting for.”

                Like his castmates, Gleeson related to Eilis’ experience in his own way.  “I think everybody’s known a sense of displacement at one time or another, of not having a clear home,” he says.  “I’ve certainly been familiar with that at various times in my life -- and I thought it was captured brilliantly in this story. Then there’s a lot of romance and fun to the story, which is very appealing.” 

                “Brooklyn” director John Crowley says that Gleeson’s take on the character brought out the bittersweetness of the story.  “There’s a consummate intelligence to Domhnall,” says Crowley. “He thinks very deeply about all his roles and he brings an intensity and maturity to Jim that bounces beautifully off of Emory as Tony. It was so important that Jim and Tony occupy vastly different spaces, that they be totally opposite versions of men that Eilis could see herself with – and Emory and Domhnall brought completely different but equally compelling feelings that underline her choice.” 

TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVES, AN OCEAN-SPANNING TRIANGLE IN “BROOKLYN”

Press release

In search of a new life, the heart warming movie “Brooklyn” trails the life of Eilis, played by Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan, a young luminous Irish woman who has lived her whole life in tiny Enniscorthy, Ireland – who  is swept away to America through the prodding of her thoughtful sister into becoming a confident woman in a foreign land.  

                As Eilis arrives into the diverse tumult of Brooklyn, New York a sudden burst of homesickness overwhelms her, feeling like an exile. But as Eilis dexterously learns to adapt to life as a New Yorker, she meets an Italian immigrant, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen), a funny, sweet, charismatic suitor determined to win her devotion. Just as she seems on the verge of beginning a new life, a family tragedy brings her back to Ireland where she is pulled back into the life she left behind and meets an Irish gentleman, Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) whom she eventually falls in love with too. Caught between two countries, two men and a decision that could affect her future forever,  Eilis confronts one of the most breathtakingly difficult dilemmas of our fluid modern world: figuring out how to merge where you have come from with where you dream of going.  

                The entirety of “Brooklyn” builds to the life-altering decisions Eilis must make:  between Tony and Jim, between Brooklyn and Ireland, between her past and what she wants for her future.   Everyone involved knew from the start that the story hinged on the uncertainty of her ultimate choice. 

                While casting Eilis was vital, it was equally important that her two suitors – one American, the other unexpectedly found when she returns to Ireland – be as alluring and true-to-life.  To play the boyish plumber Tony Fiorello, who woos Eilis with bravado and tenacity despite her uncertainty, the filmmakers chose rising star Emory Cohen.  Known for his roles on NBC’s “Smash” and Derek Cianfrance’s “The Place Beyond the Pines,” this is his first major romantic lead.

                Cohen, who is a New York native, was drawn to the character as both a timeless symbol of youthful passion but also as a very real Italian immigrant who believes in the 1950s ideal that the measure of man is doing the best by the woman he loves.  “Ultimately, I think this is a story that makes you think about a lot of things in life then and now,” he says.  “What does it mean to love whole heartedly?  What does it mean to be a good man? What does it mean to enjoy the simple things in life?” 

                If Tony Fiorello is sweetly seductive, his more provincial but gentlemanly Irish counterpart, Jim Farrell, had to be both an opposite attraction and a legitimate threat.  That led to the choice of Domhnall Gleeson, who has been coming to the fore as one of the most versatile actors of a new generation with roles in “About Time,” “Calvary,” “Unbroken,” “Ex Machina” and in “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.”

   

                Gleeson knew he, too, had to find a subtle but visceral chemistry with Saoirse Ronan, to put the question mark in the audience’s mind.  “Life in Brooklyn may offer Eilis more, but it was my job to make Jim seem worth staying in Ireland for,“ he says. “I really wanted to create a connection with Saoirse that you would feel is worth fighting for.”

                Like his castmates, Gleeson related to Eilis’ experience in his own way.  “I think everybody’s known a sense of displacement at one time or another, of not having a clear home,” he says.  “I’ve certainly been familiar with that at various times in my life -- and I thought it was captured brilliantly in this story. Then there’s a lot of romance and fun to the story, which is very appealing.” 

                “Brooklyn” opens January 27 exclusively at select Ayala Malls Cinemas – Glorietta 4, Trinoma, Market!Market! and Fairview Terraces from 20^th Century Fox thru Warner Bros.  Log on to www.sureseats.com for schedule.

AWARDS SEASON FRONTRUNNER “BROOKLYN” OPENS EXCLUSIVE IN AYALA MALLS CINEMAS ON JANUARY 27

Press release

The profoundly moving story of “Brooklyn” about a young Irish immigrant played by Saoirse Ronan who has already won her Best Actress awards for her deeply moving performance in the movie in recently concluded British Independent Film Awards, Boston Online Film Critics Association, Detroit Film Critics Society, Hollywood Film Awards, New York Film Critics Circle, Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association will soon open exclusively in Ayala Malls Cinemas starting January 27.

                “Brooklyn,” a frontrunner at the upcoming major film awards such as the Golden Globes and Oscars follows the love and coming-of-age story of story of Eilis Lacey (Ronan), An Irish immigrant must choose between two men, two countries and two destinies in a story of departures, longing and slow-simmering romance, tracing the unexpected journey of a young girl becoming a woman in America.  Through the film’s contemporary lens, the story reels back to the refined rhythms of the 1950s as a post-WWII wave of newcomers was arriving on U.S. shores in search of prosperity.

                Eilis has lived her whole life in tiny Enniscorthy, Ireland – where everyone knows everyone else’s business and then some -- when she is swept away to America, thanks to her sister, who wants to see her flourish. She arrives into the diverse tumult of Brooklyn already homesick, feeling like an exile. But as Eilis dexterously learns to adapt to life as a New Yorker, she meets a funny, sweet, charismatic suitor determined to win her devotion. Just as she seems on the verge of beginning a new life, a family tragedy brings her back to Ireland where she is pulled back into the life she left behind … and a decision that could affect her future forever. 

                Caught between two different calls to her heart, Eilis confronts one of the most breathtakingly difficult dilemmas of our fluid modern world: figuring out how to merge where you have come from with where you dream of going.  

                “Brooklyn” director John Crowley, best known for the BAFTA-winning drama “Boy A,” seems to have immediate insight into the material –since he, too, is an Irishman living outside Ireland, in his case having left his birthplace for England.  To Crowley, “Brooklyn” also evinces a modern conception of love.  “It’s a story that says love is complicated,” he muses, “and that the heart isn’t necessarily loyal to just one person; it can perhaps, unlike a head, conceive of loving two people simultaneously. Eilis’ choice between two men is also a choice for what kind of life she wants to lead. It costs her a lot emotionally, yet the only way for her in life is to keep moving forward. Love in this story is a very real force that can potentially be destructive or liberating depending on which way it bounces.” 

                Ronan says she felt an immediate, almost uncanny, affinity for Eilis as soon as she read the script. “Nick Hornby (screenwriter) isn’t from Ireland, yet he managed to completely capture the spirit of the country. The writing was so beautiful, and so beautifully subtle,” she comments.   “It felt close to my heart because it was about my people. It was the journey that my parents went on back in the ‘80s; they moved to New York and went through all these same things, even though it was a different era.  The biggest hurdle anyone goes through in life is leaving the security of your family and your friends behind for something new.”

                “Brooklyn” opens exclusively in Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide on January 27.  Log on to www.sureseats.com for advanced ticket purchase and schedule.