The story of "Brooklyn" is simple, so simple both people who accompanied me in seeing the film were constantly expecting some horrific twist at every scene transition. Most films cannot pull off the level of simplicity practiced in this film, or at least cannot keep the majority of the audience entertained with such dull plots.

"Brooklyn," though, gets away with it. The cinematography is stunning, simple but beautiful like candid photographs you sometimes find in thrift stores, nostalgic, lovely, and sincere. Taking place both in 1950s New York and Ireland, the scenery already requires little embellishment to be completely lovely, but the shots are so delicate and unpretentious that it all becomes completely enchanting.

What really carries the film, though, is the acting. The cast as a whole is excellent, the characters funny, endearing, and appropriately mean. The real star, though, and probably the film's greatest attribute, is the film's lead actress, Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan, a sprite-like girl with soft eyes and sharp features. The story, as mentioned, is simple, easy, but assisted by Ms. Ronan, it becomes exquisitely genuine and poignant. Ms. Ronan's acting is subtle but impactful, carried out not with grand gestures or a dependence on eyebrow-raising, but with understated, elegant expressions that convey incredible depth of feeling. John Crowley, the director of the film, clearly recognizes the stunning power of Ms. Ronan's expressive palette, as the film allows her not just intimate camera angles, but long, drawn-out shots during which almost nothing at all is occurring on the screen besides the muted shifting of Ms. Ronan's countenance. The story is one of melancholy, loneliness, and homesickness, as well as of love, happiness, and homecoming. These themes, all in all, are plain enough, and worn in the cinema to the point of cliche. Yet, under the power of Ms. Ronan's gaze, and encapsulated in the beauty of her surroundings, the emotions being conveyed become fresh again, and real, and the audience is able to recall that they are true sensations, rather than tropes that have been long overused.

This film reminds its audience that alienation, love, heartbreak, and nostalgia are not constructions of Hollywood played up for a dramatic effect, but are the simple truths of human experience.