Saoirse Ronan and Ethan Cohen in “Brooklyn" at the Bettendorf Public Library -- September 13.
Wednesday, September 13, 6 p.m.
Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Center Drive, Bettendorf IA
Lauded by Baltimore magazine as "the very essence of a simple story beautifully told," the three-time Academy Award nominee Brooklyn , on September 13, serves as the first screening in the Bettendorf Public Library's Global Gathering Ireland film series, this charming romance starring Saoirse Ronan praised by NPR's Claudia Puig as "one of the best films ever made about leaving one's homeland in search of a better life."
Directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby, Brooklyn is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Colm Tóibín, and its film version is a co-production between the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, The period romance starts four-time Oscar nominee Ronan in the lead role, with the supporting cast boasting Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent, and two-time Academy Award nominee Julie Walters. Brooklyn's plot follows Eilis Lacey, a young Irishwoman who emigrates to Brooklyn in the early 1950s to find employment. However, after building a life in New Yok complete with a well-paying job, night-school courses, and a serious romance with Italian-American Tony Fiorello, a tragedy draws Eilis back to her home town of Enniscorthy, where she is ultimately forced to choose in which country she wants to forge her future. Principal photography began in April of 2014, with three weeks of filming in Ireland followed by four weeks in Montreal, Quebec. Only two days of filming actually took place in Brooklyn, one of which was spent at the beach in Coney Island.
Brooklyn premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and was screened as part of the Special Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival that September. Crowley's movie opened in the United States on November 4 and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on November 6, with the critical response to the film overwhelmingly positive. Currently boasting a 97-percent "freshness" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Brooklyn was particularly praised for its screenplay, direction. and Ronan's performance, which earned her Best Actress nominations at the Oscars, the BAFTAs, the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Award. Brooklyn won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film and was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress (for Ronan), and Best Adapted Screenplay. The romantic drama was also featured on more than 120 film critics' "Top 10" lists for the finest in 2015 cinema.
With the 2023 Global Gathering Ireland funded by the Bettendorf Public Library Foundation and supported by title sponsor Northwest Bank & Trust and presenting sponsor the Iowa American Water Company, Brooklyn will be screened on September 13 at 6 p.m., admission to the PG-13 movie is free, and more information is available by calling (563)344-4175 and visiting BettendorfLibrary.com.
