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2015, Romance/History, 1h 52m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Brooklyn buttresses outstanding performances from Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen with a rich period drama that tugs at the heartstrings as deftly as it satisfies the mind. Read critic reviews

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Brooklyn videos, brooklyn   photos.

Young Irish immigrant Eilis Lace (Saoirse Ronan) navigates her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother's home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her past disrupts her new vivacity, and Eilis must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.

Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|A Scene of Sexuality)

Genre: Romance, History, Drama

Original Language: English (United Kingdom)

Director: John Crowley

Producer: Finola Dwyer , Amanda Posey

Writer: Nick Hornby

Release Date (Theaters): Nov 25, 2015  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Feb 23, 2016

Box Office (Gross USA): $38.3M

Runtime: 1h 52m

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

Production Co: Item 7, Wildgaze Films, Parallel Films, Finola Dwyer Prods.

Cast & Crew

Saoirse Ronan

Domhnall Gleeson

Jim Farrell

Emory Cohen

Jim Broadbent

Father Flood

Julie Walters

Jessica Paré

Miss Fortini

Eve Macklin

Bríd Brennan

Fiona Glascott

Jane Brennan

Nora Jane Noone

Jenn Murray

Eva Birthistle

Michael Zegen

Mary O'Driscoll

Miss McAdam

Maeve McGrath

John Crowley

Nick Hornby

Screenwriter

Finola Dwyer

Amanda Posey

Alan Moloney

Executive Producer

Christine Langan

Beth Pattinson

Thorsten Schumacher

Zygi Kamasa

Hussain Amarshi

Yves Bélanger

Cinematographer

Jake Roberts

Film Editing

Michael Brook

Original Music

François Séguin

Production Design

Odile Dicks-Mireaux

Costume Design

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Critic Reviews for Brooklyn

Audience reviews for brooklyn.

Very nicely acted and filmed movie. I appreciated, but didn't necessarily like it. The main problem I had was that I wasn't overly keen on Eilis. There were parts to her I found cruel (such as her behaviour to the young blonde girl and the not even opening Tony's letters). This isn't the fault of the film - but it is marketed as a romantic love story with a triangle. It's actually not that romantic. I feel like Eillis was railroaded into the relationship with Tony and just drifts into another with Jim. There's no chemistry or real emotion portrayed with either. She is dishonest and seems to just let life happen to her. Even her choice at the end is circumstance more than truly her own. It did feel very real to the time period though and Soirse does a great job portraying Eillis. I can appreciate women had less options in that era and it was a different time and so would be interested to read the book and see if the character is more likeable there!

This is a sweet film about an Irish immigrant woman trying to find herself in America. I knew very little about the movie and was surprised by the plot change in the middle of the film. I won't ruin it for you, I'll only say that if you like love stories, give this movie a try. I did and I dug it.

The most beautiful romantic-drama I've watched in a while. Brooklyn gains from an overwhelmingly honest, Oscar-nominated, performance from Saoirse Ronan.

Delightful, but not exceptional. Kinda like the real Brooklyn.

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By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

There will be bigger, wilder, weightier movies this year, but none lovelier than Brooklyn. I relished every moonstruck minute of it. The astonishing Saoirse Ronan ( Atonement, Hanna ) lights up the screen in a performance that takes a piece of your heart. Set in 1952, the film examines the immigrant experience through the eyes of Eilis Lacey (Ronan), a shy girl whose life in economically strapped Ireland is squeezing her options. She can either be a burden at home to her mother and sister or get on that boat to New York and try to eke out a living in a strange land.

Skillfully and movingly directed by John Crowley ( Boy A, Intermission ), the movie makes Eilis’ loneliness palpable as she moves into a boardinghouse run with a firm hand by Ma Kehoe (a feisty, first-rate Julie Walters). But with the help of a priest (Jim Broadbent) and an empathetic floor manager (Jessica Paré) at the department store where she works, the homesick Eilis begins to emerge from her shell.

Love, of course, is a prime factor. At a local dance, Eilis meets Tony (Emory Cohen), an Italian plumber with a brash yen for this fair colleen. Cohen electrifies the movie and Eilis. He’s dynamite, transforming a stock role into something wonderfully fresh and exciting. Eilis is shy and virginal but no pushover, and Ronan plays her with robust resilience. This culture-clash romance gives the film an erotic charge that explains why Eilis seriously thinks about putting down roots on alien turf.

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For a time, at least. Called back to Ireland for a family crisis, the newly independent Eilis takes measure of what she’s lost. Now she can find a job, care for her mother and build a connection with Jim Farrell (a splendid Domhnall Gleeson), the laddie she once rejected as a clubbish snob.

Can Eilis really go home again? Can any of us? That’s the question that courses through this probing, passionate film. Is home where the heart is, or is it vice versa? In a grown-up world, love gets complicated with responsibility. The transporting script that Nick Hornby has carved out of Colm Tóibín’s bestseller is a model of screen adaptation. And the actors fill the space between words with humor and aching tenderness. Brooklyn is easily the year’s best and most beguiling love story. The surprise is that it also goes deeper, sadder and truer.

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Common sense media reviewers.

Poignant immigration drama is romantic, thought-provoking.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Promotes the idea of the United States as a land o

Eilis' story is one of growing confidence, cou

Disturbing scene of a woman's dead body being

Flirting, dancing, a few kisses, and one sex scene

In a heavy Irish accent, a couple of uses of &quot

Guinness beer, Coca-Cola (in historical context).

Of-age young adults drink at dinner/to celebrate a

Parents need to know that Brooklyn is a poignant period drama about Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young woman who immigrates to New York from Ireland in the early 1950s. An adaptation of Col Toibin's 2009 novel, the movie features infrequent strong language (a couple uses of "f--k," as well as …

Positive Messages

Promotes the idea of the United States as a land of opportunity and promise -- and that people in the United States have confidence and optimism. Enforces the idea that while your birthplace will always have a pull on you, the place where you make meaningful connections, fall in love, and put down roots is where you'll eventually feel most at home. Encourages young people to work hard to fulfill their dreams.

Positive Role Models

Eilis' story is one of growing confidence, courage, and independence. She goes from passive and obedient to making her own way and figuring out what she wants for her life, not just what's expected of her. She's a kind and loving sister and daughter, but she's also true to herself and to the person she loves. Tony is a gentleman who supports and encourages Eilis and wants a better life for them.

Violence & Scariness

Disturbing scene of a woman's dead body being discovered by her mother.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Flirting, dancing, a few kisses, and one sex scene that's mostly clothed and quick (though very meaningful for both participants); in addition to kissing and shedding of some clothing, there's moaning and movement. A character skirts the line of cheating but never completely crosses it.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

In a heavy Irish accent, a couple of uses of "f--k." Also "bitch," "bastard," "s--t," "idiot," and "dear God" (as a mild exclamation).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Of-age young adults drink at dinner/to celebrate a job well done. Minor character smokes a pipe.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Brooklyn is a poignant period drama about Eilis Lacey ( Saoirse Ronan ), a young woman who immigrates to New York from Ireland in the early 1950s. An adaptation of Col Toibin's 2009 novel, the movie features infrequent strong language (a couple uses of "f--k," as well as "s--t" and "bitch") and quite a bit of romance, including several kisses and a quick first-time sex scene between a committed young couple (nothing graphic, but it includes some moaning and movements). There's one disturbing moment when a dead body is shown; afterward, a family grieves. Another scene depicts the unpleasant effects of seasickness in a vivid manner. This is an ideal film for teens and parents to see together and to discuss the historical and relevant current themes about family, immigration, independence, and what makes a place feel like home. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (9)
• Kids say (15)

Based on 9 parent reviews

Beautiful Oscar Film with Great Aspects

What's the story.

Based on Colm Toibin's award-winning 2009 novel, BROOKLYN follows young Eilis Lacey ( Saoirse Ronan ), an Irish girl who moves from County Wexford to New York in 1952. There are no worthwhile jobs for Eilis in her hometown of Enniscorthy, so her older sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott), arranges for a Brooklyn priest ( Jim Broadbent ) to sponsor Eilis' immigration. Upon arrival, Eilis lives in a boarding house run by Ms. Kehoe ( Julie Walters ) with several other single women and works as a shopgirl at a Brooklyn department store. Lonely and sad, Eilis' prospects change when she meets Tony (Emory Cohen), a handsome Italian-American plumber who happens to like Irish girls. He sweetly pursues Eilis, who starts taking accounting classes at night after working all day. Their blossoming relationship brings Eilis out of her shell, but when a tragedy unexpectedly takes her back to Ireland, she feels divided between the pull of her ancestral home and the promise of her new one.

Is It Any Good?

Ronan is a radiant revelation in this beautifully acted, timeless story about leaving everything you know behind to find your way in a new world. Director John Crowley and screenwriter Nick Hornby focus the adaptation on Eilis' development from shy and lonely to smitten and surprisingly resourceful. Surrounded by a talented supporting ensemble, Ronan shines as she navigates the streets of 1950s Brooklyn (although it's really Montreal). Broadbent is genial as Eilis' priest and connection to home, and Walters is hilarious as Eilis' nosey but well-meaning landlady, who makes sure to keep all her girls (including Eve Macklin and Arrow star Emily Bett Rickards) in check.

The real sparks are due to Ronan's chemistry with newcomer Cohen ( The Place Beyond the Pines ), whose Tony looks like a cleaner-cut young Marlon Brando . Tony is from a blue-collar Italian family that normally doesn't socialize with the Irish, but the moment he spots Eilis at a dance, he's a goner. Their romance is slow-burning, sweet, and full of delightful moments, like when Eilis practices eating spaghetti before having her first meal at Tony's family's apartment, or how he faithfully waits for her after every night class to walk her back home. When a tragedy requires Eilis to return to Ireland, it's clear she feels the pull of home. She's no longer a mousey little sister but full of American optimism, confidence, and romance -- which makes attractive bachelor Jim Farrell ( Domhnall Gleeson ) notice. Caught between two men and two lives, Eilis must choose between the comfort of the past and the uncertainty of the future. Home isn't where you live, but where your heart belongs -- something Crowley portrays in a way that will make you cry bittersweet tears.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Brooklyn portrays the plight of immigrants. How is this depiction different than other films about immigrants? What challenges did Eilis face? How are those challenges different than those of modern immigrants?

The movie explores issues of ethnicity and gender in the 1950s. How does being Irish distinguish Eilis from her American housemates -- and her Italian boyfriend?

What roles do sex and love play in the story -- and in the characters' lives? Does one necessitate the other? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

How does Eilis demonstrate courage in Brooklyn ? Why is this an important character strength ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 4, 2015
• On DVD or streaming : March 15, 2016
• Cast : Saoirse Ronan , Jim Broadbent , Domhnall Gleeson
• Director : John Crowley
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Fox Searchlight
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Friendship , Great Girl Role Models , History
• Character Strengths : Courage
• Run time : 111 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : a scene of sexuality and brief strong language
• Award : Common Sense Selection
• Last updated : February 13, 2024

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Screen Rant

Brooklyn ending, explained.

John Crowley's beautiful, Oscar-nominated romantic drama Brooklyn, based on Colm Tóibín's book of the same name, has a thought-provoking ending.

The beautifully realized Oscar-nominated romantic drama Brooklyn , adapted from Colm Tóibín’s book of the same name, has a moving and thought-provoking ending. Saoirse Ronan stars in the adaptation as Eilis Lacey, a young Irish woman who emigrates to Brooklyn in the 1950s. While caught between two homes, Eilis finds herself in a love triangle with Tony (Emory Cohen), an Italian-American plumber in New York, and Jim (Domhnall Gleeson), a well-off suitor back in her hometown of Enniscorthy. Brooklyn was nominated for three Academy Awards – Best Picture, Best Actress (for Ronan), and Best Adapted Screenplay – but sadly, in spite of its universal praise, it didn’t win any.

Named by the BBC as one of the 100 greatest films of the 21st century, Brooklyn is a heartwarming historical tale about what it means to call somewhere home. Ronan was already one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation, but Brooklyn bolstered her reputation for providing poignant, powerful performances. One of the reasons why the movie is so unforgettable is its touching final scene that brings the themes full circle and provides a satisfying conclusion to the love story. The film adaptation of Brooklyn has a very different ending than Tóibín’s source novel, but it’s just as memorable.

RELATED: Every Saoirse Ronan Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

What Happens In Brooklyn’s Ending

When her sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott), unexpectedly passes away, Eilis returns to Enniscorthy to help out her mother (Jane Brennan). Before she leaves her new location in New York City , she marries Tony, who shows her the Long Island land plot where he intends to build their home. In Enniscorthy, Eilis becomes nostalgic for her old life and considers never returning to Tony in Brooklyn. She takes over Rose’s old job as a bookkeeper while being wooed by Jim, who insinuates that he intends to propose to her. Eilis is then forced to make a definitive choice when her cruel former employer, Miss Kelly (Bríd Brennan), figures out her secret.

Miss Kelly’s blackmail reminds Eilis of how she had felt oppressed and held back when she lived in Enniscorthy. When she finally has enough of Miss Kelly lording her secret over her, Eilis reinstates her commitment to Tony by saying her full married name. Eilis tells her mother about Tony, then leaves a farewell note for Jim before returning to New York to start her life with her husband. In the heartwarming final scene, Eilis reunites with Tony in Brooklyn, choosing not only which suitor she wants to commit to, but also the place she considers to be her home.

Why Eilis Decides To Go Back To Tony

At the end of Brooklyn , after weighing her options, Eilis makes the definitive decision to break things off with Jim and return to Tony. It’s not clear if spending her life with Tony is exactly what Eilis wants to do, but she realizes that going back to Tony is the right thing to do. Regardless of how she feels about Jim, she made a commitment to Tony when she married him. After building a new life in Brooklyn, Eilis feels she belongs there. Jim may be better suited for Eilis than Tony, but Tony (whose actor, Emory Cohen, deserved an Oscar ) was much more committed to her than Jim was.

Making Eilis happy seems to be Tony’s top priority – he even plans to build them a house from scratch – whereas Jim’s wealth and ambition make him a little self-absorbed. Still, Jim seems like a better match for Eilis. It’s possible that she never really loves Tony and that she only starts dating him out of fear of loneliness. She doesn't choose to go back to Tony of her own accord; she only makes the decision to return to her marriage when Miss Kelly learns that she has a husband back in America and threatens to reveal her secret.

RELATED: Saoirse Ronan's 5 Best Roles (& 5 She Almost Got)

Who Eilis Chose In The Novel's Ending

Colm Tóibín’s novel ends slightly differently than the movie adaptation of Brooklyn starring Saoirse Ronan . In both versions of the story, Miss Kelly hears through the grapevine that Eilis has a husband back in New York and uses that information to bully her. Eilis still chooses Tony over Jim in the book, but the story ends more ambiguously as Eilis takes a taxi to the dock. The novel, which doesn't have the movie’s sweeping romantic finale in which Eilis makes it to Brooklyn and embraces Tony, leaves the story more open-ended.

The movie adaptation adds an extra scene when Eilis is traveling back to Brooklyn. She encounters a young woman embarking on her first journey to New York and gives her all the advice she needs to hear about feeling homesick and building a new life. This scene mirrors the earlier scene in which Eilis makes her first trip to America and a more seasoned traveler takes her under her wing. In terms of Saoirse Ronan's Brooklyn character's development, this can be seen as her reassuring herself that she made the right decision to leave Jim behind and go back to Brooklyn.

Is There A Sequel To The Movie Brooklyn?

In an interview with the Irish Examiner , Colm Tóibín confirmed that he’s working on a sequel to the original Brooklyn novel: “ I got an idea. It is a sequel with all the same characters, but something else .” While Tóibín will continue the story of Eilis and Tony on the page, there’s no official confirmation that this sequel novel will be turned into a sequel movie. In the same interview, the author cast doubt on a potential film adaptation of his upcoming follow-up: “ We were so lucky the first time... It would be unlikely you would get that luck a second time .”

It might be best to leave Brooklyn as a standalone film. Whereas movies like Star Wars and Spider-Man are tailor-made for sequels that continue their heroes’ adventures, Brooklyn is a more contemplative film focused on themes and emotions. What makes Brooklyn so special and memorable is more difficult to replicate than the action-adventure spectacle of those blockbusters. But Saoirse Ronan has never given a less-than-stellar performance, so if Tóibín comes up with a satisfying sequel story in the next novel and the director and screenwriter behind the first movie return, a follow-up film adaptation could work wonderfully.

RELATED: The Best Romance Movies That Never Got Sequels

The Real Meaning Of Brooklyn’s Ending

Thematically, Brooklyn is about the meaning of the word “home.” When Eilis first arrives in Brooklyn, she feels terribly homesick and longs to return to her family back in Ireland . But after meeting Tony and falling in love, she comes to see New York as her home. When she returns to Enniscorthy, she feels homesick once again, this time for her life in Brooklyn. Eilis’s return to Brooklyn resolves the theme of “home” beautifully. What it means to call somewhere home has less to do with the actual geographical location than the love that exists there and the people who share that location.

MORE: See How They Run: Ending Explained (In Detail)

'Brooklyn 45' Review: The Living Are the Real Terror in Ted Geoghegan's Seance Story

This small-scale horror tale is one to beat, questioning what we'll do in the face of our own fear.

Ted Geoghegan isn’t messing around with his newest offering, Brooklyn 45 . The man behind We Are Still Here has returned with yet another period piece, teaming up with Shudder for a 1940s horror tale that seems like it comes straight off the radio. In a world where Evil Dead Rise is soaking audiences in as much blood as it can manage, Geoghegan chooses to go small, telling the story of five war veterans who gather for what they assume will be a harmless night of drinking, only to find themselves caught in a mess none of them can unravel when a seance goes deeply wrong.

Of all the films I saw at the Overlook Film Festival, where I initially screened Brooklyn 45 back in March, it was far and away the best of the lot, employing subtlety to great use and pulling its scares not from the supernatural, but from the twisted humanity inside all of us. Taking place all in one room, Geoghegan is less concerned with jumpscares and beautifully terrifying monsters than he is with the humans that decide to play God, questioning whether that behavior began once they entered the room, or when they were conscripted for service. What looks like just another ghost story on the outside, as a result, reveals itself to be a deep, personal, and shocking rumination on grief and trauma, all contained within a single room of a Brooklyn brownstone.

It takes a certain tact to effectively pull off a chamber piece. Not only do you need excellent actors for the audience to latch onto, but you also need a truly phenomenal script, something that can compel your interest to remain despite almost no outside factors coming into play. It’s a tough game, but one that fascinates me, and Geoghegan manages to bring an extra factor in to amp up the stakes: Brooklyn 45 takes place entirely in real time, its ninety-two minute run mirroring the exact amount of time that passes in the film. It’s a factor that makes the first two requirements of a chamber piece even more essential — his script must manage to fill ninety minutes without slacking once, even if it demands that his characters experience an entire range of emotions in a short time, while also never shutting the hell up.

RELATED: The Best Horror Movies of 2023 (So Far)

'Brooklyn 45' Is One of the Year's Best Films, Horror or Otherwise

Geoghegan’s got the universe and humanity’s ever-dwindling attention spans working against him, but those odds are nothing in comparison to his airtight, fast-paced script. It builds tension without the need for massive set pieces, though the few he does employ are expertly crafted. We understand his characters’ inner lives almost from moment one, and that knowledge is vital to carrying the rest of the film, which spins out like a hydroplaning car and drags its audience along with it. Accusations are tossed like barbs, and words become even more deadly weapons than the gun passed around the room, always threatening to go off and wringing your nerves out like a wet washcloth.

It’s easy to see how one could adapt Brooklyn 45 for the stage, dialogue heavy as it is. Appropriately, it reminds me of the “talkies” of the era in which the film is set, when action was light but actors fired off dialogue at lightning speed. This film is the horror equivalent of His Girl Friday , the characters bouncing back and forth constantly from monologue to monologue — including a spectacular piece from star Larry Fessenden , whose grief-laden Lieutenant Colonel Hockstatter is the centerpiece of the action. But make no mistake, the rest of the cast flourishes as well. Each are given moments to shine when reflecting on the horrors of war, whether it’s Anne Ramsey ’s Marla reliving her days as a military interrogator or Jeremy Holm ’s scene-stealing Archibald Stanton as secrets are uncovered about what he did in the name of patriotism.

The Supernatural Horrors Are Just the Beginning of 'Brooklyn 45'

Each of these stories are wrapped up in the film’s supernatural frame story, about a seance gone wrong that leads each and every person locked in Hockstatter’s parlor to slowly devolve into madness. But while this film advertises itself as being about a seance, the undead elements of the story are really a conduit for Geoghegan’s real message, which is a focus on paranoia, specifically the kind born out of post-war trauma in a newly peaceful America. Geoghegan wrote the script with assistance from his late father, an Air Force veteran, and so the focus on five former military characters creates a sharp portrait of distrust, even among those who’ve known each other for decades. Trusted relationships begin to sour the second things go south, and there’s nary a ghost or ghoul in the film that can stand up to the vitriol the characters spew at each other, slowly unraveling the layers of despicable things each of them have thought, felt, and done over the course of the war.

It’s odd to call such an intense, personal, harrowing tale lush , but that’s what Brooklyn 45 feels like. Its brightly decorated parlor — lovingly cluttered in a way that would make an antique dealer’s heart soar — plays the perfect complement to its equally lush characters, though the well-crafted personas of a handful of deeply disturbed veterans aren’t necessarily beautiful the way their surroundings are. There’s an energy of old Vincent Price films about it, and I’m not just saying that because of Holm’s slicked back hair and mustache combo. It evokes the same sort of bone-deep chills, reflecting on how the choices we make affect those around us, and how questioning those choices can sometimes lead to a fate worse than death.

For all that this movie could’ve felt like a “COVID film” — one location, six actors, minimal necessary effects — Geoghegan’s creative power pushes it beyond the boundaries of what many consider chamber pieces to be. It's a film that will grab you by the hair and capture your attention without you even realizing it. For me, it’s the film to beat this year, easily taking the crown as my favorite scary movie of the last several years — even if all the scares come from the idea of what might happen when your closest friends turn on you.

Brooklyn 45 is now streaming on Shudder.

17 Movies About Brooklyn You May Want To Know (Best Movies Set In Brooklyn)

Brooklyn is one of the most known places in the world. It is the most populous county in New York City and the second-most densely populated in the United States.

Songs have been composed about Brooklyn, and authors have written books about Brooklyn, so it is not a shocker that there would be movies about Brooklyn.

I am sure that you have seen the Brooklyn Bridge in many movies.

This article will look into the movies that talked about Brooklyn and the people living there. The list will be in chronological order.

1. The Lords of Flatbush (1974)

The Lords of Flatbush is a 1 hour 26 minutes American drama film. Martin Davidson and Stephen Verona directed it. The lead roles were played by Perry King, Henry Winkler, and Sylvester Stallone.

The story is about teenagers from the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn . The teenagers often wore leather jackets and were involved in gang-related activities.

They used to hang out at a local malt shop to chase girls, shoot pools and even steal cars.

The film has been rated 67% on rotten tomatoes and 53 out of 100 on Metacritic. For the most part, however, the film was considered a low-budget film.

 2. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Dog Day Afternoon is a 2hour 30 minutes film that was produced in 1975. It is an American biographical crime drama movie that was produced by directed by Martin Elfand and Martin Bregman. The director of the Movie was Sidney Lumet.

The stars of the Movie are John Cazale, James Broderick, Charles Durning, and Al Pacino. The movie is based on a Life magazine article by  P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore known as “The Boys in the Bank.”

The story involves one of the first Savings banks in Brooklyn known as chase at the Manhattan branch. Three friends Sonny Wortzik, Salvatore, and Stevie plan to rob the bank. But, unfortunately, Stevie flees and spoils the plan even before it started.

Sonny creates suspicion when he burns the register in a trash can, and the smoke from the burning register creates suspicion outside. In the movie, we see the authorities working together to resolve the situation.

The movie was nominated for seven golden globes. From the nomination, it got one. Moreover, it got six nominations for the academy awards.

 3. Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Saturday Night Fever is a 1hour 59-minute dance drama film. It was produced by Robert Stigwood and directed by John Badham. The stars of the Movie are John Travolta and Karen Gorney.

The movie is based on “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night,” an article by Nik Cohn. Nik Cohn is a music writer, and he published the article in June of 1976 in the New York magazine.

The movie had a tremendous effect on the popular culture that existed in the late 1970s. The disco music that was becoming popular in Brooklyn was shown in the movie. In addition, the film showed aspects of the music, dancing, and the subculture that surrounded the disco era.

The entire film was shot in Brooklyn. People viewed it as one of the best movies of 1977. Based on 49 reviews, it had a rating of 82% on rotten tomatoes.

Although it has received many praises, the film has also received many criticisms. One of the criticisms was that the film was wrongfully credited for sparking the disco culture.

4. Last Exit To Brooklyn (1989)

Last Exit To Brooklyn is a German-British drama film that is 1 hour 43 minutes long. Uli Edel directed the film. The people who starred in the Movie were Stephen Lang, Jennifer, Jason Leigh, Burt Young, Peter Dobson, and Jerry Orbach.

The film explores the complicated lives of some people living in Brooklyn. These people include prostitutes, unionized workers, and drag queens. The neighborhood is characterized by violence, crime, and addiction to drugs.

The film got many positive reviews, including the 78% it garnered on rotten tomatoes. It, however, did not become a commercial success as expected because of limited distribution and a low-key subject matter.

 5. Hey Good Lookin (1982)

Hey Good Lookin is a 1 hour 17 Minute American adult animated movie. Ralph Bakshi wrote and produced this comedy-drama film. The stars of the Movie are Richard Romanus, David Proval, Jesse Welles, and Tina Bowman.

The film’s set in the 1950s, and the story focuses on Vinnie, a gang leader. The Stompers is the name of his gang. The Stormers live in Brooklyn, where there exist multiple gangs.

The movie looks into rival gang feuds and related crimes such as murder and even prostitution.

Although the movie is decent, it has received many negative reviews from critics. One critic commented, “not exactly incoherent, but whatever it originally had on its mind seems to have slipped away.”

6. Do The Right Thing (1989)

Do the right thing is a 2-hour comedy-drama film that was released in 1989. Spike Lee directed and wrote the script for the movie. The movie stares Spikes Lee, Martin Lawrence, Ossie Davis, Rosie Perez, Richard Edson, Ruby Dee, Samuel L Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Danny Aiello.

The story looks into the racial tension that is rising in one of Brooklyn’s neighborhoods . The movie’s attention is on the life of Mookie, a 25-year-old African American Man, and his Italian-American boss Sal.

Saul’s eldest son Pino is racist. He and Mookie get into arguments often concerning racism. Things get tense when Mookies friend Buggin questions Sal about his ‘Wall of Fame. He tells Sal to put up pictures of black celebrities since he runs his business in a black neighborhood.

Buggin starts a boycott on Sal’s pizzeria after Sal refuses to honor his request. This results in the death of one of Buggin’s friends and the destruction of Sal’s pizzeria.

The film was ranked one of the best movies in 1989 by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. However, the movie did spike some controversy as some reviewers thought it would incite black audiences to riot.

7. Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991)

Straight out of Brooklyn is a 1 hour 30 minutes independent film. Matty Rich directed it. This marked his directorial debut. The stars of the Movie were George T. Odom, Ann D. Sanders, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., and Mark Malone.

The movie explores the life of an African American teen called Denis. Dennis lives in the Red Hook housing project in Brooklyn with his mother, sister, and an alcoholic father who is also abusive. Dennis becomes tired of the life he is living and plans to rob a local drug dealer together with his friend.

The movie shows the struggle of how a young man gets into crime because of poverty. In the Brooklyn Red Hook projects, many people are poor, and the crime rate is high. So people sought to crimes to try and elevate themselves from their poverty.

The movie not only receives positive reviews but also got nominated for awards. The movie earned a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival that was held in 1991.

8. Little Odessa (1994)

Little Odessa is a 1 hour 38 minutes American Crime drama film that was released in 1994. James Gray wrote and directed the movie, which starred Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell, and Moira Kelly.

The movie follows the life of Arkady Shapira, his wife Irina, and their two sons. Russian-Jewish mafia in Brooklyn has recruited Joshua, who is the elder son of Arkady, to be their hitman.

Joshua commits a series of murders at the command of the mafia. This includes killing and burning the body of a local Jeweler.

The movie shows the insecurity and gang-related violence that is experienced in Brooklyn. As a result, the movie gained a lot of positive reviews from its audience. At the Venice film festival, it earned a Silver Lion.

9. Crooklyn (1994)

Crooklyn is an autobiographical movie that Spikes Lee directed. The stars of the movie include Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee, and Zelda Harris.

The film focuses on a young girl who lives in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and her family. We see the girl, whose name is Troy, learn life lessons while living in that neighborhood.

Crooklyn shows the kind of life that people lived in Brooklyn in the 1970s. They explored certain aspects, such as the games played by the kids on the streets at that time. The setting is different from what is currently happening in the neighborhoods of Brooklyn . Right now, children are afraid to go outside and play in the streets.

Crooklyn has received good ratings from those who have watched it. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has received a 77% rating as of October 2017. According to Spikes Lee, this was a personal project that warmly showed his childhood.

10. Clockers (1995)

Clockers is a 2-hour American crime drama film that Spikes Lee directed. Spike Lee and Richard price wrote it. It is an adaptation of the 1992 movie by Richard price, also known as Clockers.

The stars of the Movie are Delroy Lindo, Mekhi Phifer, John Turturro, and Harvey Keitel. The movie tells the story of Strike (Phifer), who is a street-level drug dealer.

A group of clockers, also known as street-level drug dealers, sells drugs within their community in a Brooklyn housing project. Rodney, the drug lord, sends his leading clocker strike to kill another dealer known as Adam, stealing from him.

Rocco, who is a detective, tries his best to uncover the murderers of Adam. He tries to pit the gang members against each other and succeeds. This is in an attempt to persuade Spikes to confess and turn on his drug lord.

Spikes is labeled a snitch by the rest of the gang. In the end, Spikes leaves town so that the gang members would not kill him.

The story centered on gun violence and drug trafficking that is rampant in Brooklyn. The movie generally received good reviews from the public.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie had a 71% approval rate based on 58 reviews. However, one critic stated that the movie was more emotional and less factual when compared to the original story.

11. Deuces Wild (2002)

Deuces Wild is a 1 hour 40 minutes American crime drama film. The movie was written by Paul Kimatian and Christopher Gambale and directed by Scott Kalvert. It stars James Franco, Fairuza Balk, Stephen Dorff, Matt Dillon and Brad Renfro.

The film is set in 1958 in Brooklyn. The movie explores the existence of street gangs in Brooklyn around that time. We can see their activities and why the people living in Brooklyn decide to join gangs in the first place.

The movie is centered on the lives of Bobby and Leon as gang members of Dueces. Ever since their brother died of an overdose of drugs, they have been trying to keep it off their streets. However, they are opposed by the Vipers, who are determined to sell their drugs within the neighborhood.

There is so much killing around the neighborhood as even Leon gets shot at killed. Marco, who is the Leader of the Viper, is also shot and killed.

In this movie, we see the strained relationship between the police and some of the residents. Before his death, Marco has wanted to revenge on Leon for ratting him out to the police.

However captivating the film seemed to be, it received so many negative reviews. However, on Rotten Tomatoes, it got a 3% approval rating.

12. Brooklyn Lobster (2005)

Brooklyn Lobster is a 1 hour 33 minutes American drama film that Martin Scorsese wrote and produced. Kevin Jordan directed the movie. The stars of the Movie are Danny Aiello and Jane Curtin.

Giorgio’s Lobster Farm has been a tradition in Brooklyn for over 65 years. The establishment serves the best seafood in the state.

After facing grave financial troubles, the Giorgio family tries to save their family business. However, everyone is under pressure because the business that holds the family’s identity is about to be taken away.

In the end, a long-term customer saves the buys the business and partners up with the owners of Brooklyn Lobster.

13. Brooklyn Rules (2007)

Brooklyn Rules is a 1 hour 49 Minutes American crime drama movie. The film was written by Terence Winter and directed by Michael Corrente. The movie stars Scott Caan, Jerry Ferrara, Mena Suavi, Freddie Prinze and Alec Baldwin.

The movie is set in the 1980s, exploring the activities of gangs in the area. In the movie, a group of lifelong friends gets themselves involved with the Brooklyn Mafia.

Michael, a pre-law student, Bobby, who works in the post office, and carmine, who loves a lavish lifestyle, are the movie’s center. Carmine is a good-looking lady killer who is involved with the mafia and loves that kind of lifestyle.

In the movie, we can see that sometimes members are recruited into gangs, not because of their liking but because they are forced. Bobby and Michael are getting involved with the mafia despite their reluctance.

The movie received numerous reviews from the public, which contained mixed feelings. Based on 40 reviews, the movie got an approval rating of 45% on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, it scored 53 out of 100, based on the reviews of 13 critics.

14. We own the night (2007)

We own the night is a 1 hour 58-minute American action thriller movie. James Gray wrote the script for the movie and directed it. The leading roles were played by Eva Mendes, Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Duval, and Mark Wahlberg. The name of the movie comes from the motto of the NYPD’s Street Crimes Unit.

The motto was, however, disbanded in 2002.

Just like many others on this list, the film speaks to the crimes committed by gang members in Brooklyn.

Booby starts as a manager at a nightclub that a Russian drug lord frequents. Boobys brother Joseph is the captain of the police force. He tries to make him cooperate so that he can catch the drug lord.

Bobby, however, refuses to work with the police. Finally, after his brother’s life is threatened by the drug lord Bobby finally accepts to cooperate.

Bobby ultimately decides to join the police force when the drug lord kills his father. However, during another raid, Bobby shoots the drug lord and fatally wounds him.

The movie speaks to the insecurity that has been created by drug use and gangs in Brooklyn.

The movie gets an approval rating of 57% based on 153critics.On Metacritic, it scored 59 out of 100 based on 33 critics.

15. Brooklyn’s Finest (2009)

Brooklyn fines is a 2 hour 20-minute American crime film. The movie was written by Michael Martin and directed by Antonine Fuqua. The stars of the film were Don Cheadle, Wesley Snipes, Richard Gere, and Ethan Hawke.

The movie is centered on the work of the police. The police are trying to stop the criminal activities that are taking place in Brooklyn. These crimes are mainly involved with drugs. However, we also see the shortcoming of the detectives and police officers as they also commit crimes on their job.

Detective Sal shoots someone as having a conversation at the beginning of the movie and doesn’t report himself. The movie also shows crimes such as kidnapping as officer Eddie rescues kidnapped girls at the end of the movie.

There were mixed feelings about the movie from the viewers. Based on 151 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the film had an approval rating of 44%. Metacritic received a rating of 43% based on 33 reviews.

Critics felt that the movie was so cliche about desperate cops.

16. Red hooker Summer (2012)

Red Hooker summer is a 2 hour 15 minutes American film. Spikes Lee was the writer and the director of the movie, part of his “Chronicles of Brooklyn” series. The movie starred Clarke Peters, Nate Parker, Thomas Jefferson, Toni Lysaith, and Jules Brown.

The film mainly portrays life in the Red Hook projects of Brooklyn. Flik Royale, who lives in Atlanta, is sent to stay with his grandfather, a preacher in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Filk and his grandfather Enoch have trouble connecting, and Finn ends up being friends with a girl named Chazz. The preacher is accused of sexual relations with a minor and gets beaten and deserted by his congregation.

Based on 56 reviews, the film got an approval rating of 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, the film scored 48 out of 100 based on the reviews of 5 critics.

17. Brooklyn (2015)

Brooklyn is a 2hr 52minutes romantic film that was produced in 2015. Nick Hornby wrote it was the scriptwriter, while John Crowley was the director.

It is based on the Brooklyn novel by Colm Tóibín. The film stars Saoirse Ronan, Julie Walters, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, and Emory Cohen.

The story explores the adaptation of new settlers in Brooklyn. The setting is 1951. Eilis Lacey, an Irish woman, moves to Brooklyn from her hometown in Ireland to find employment.

Her life in Brooklyn involves settling in an Irish boarding house and ultimately getting married to Toney. In the end, Eilis is forced to choose between the life she has in Brooklyn and the one she left in her hometown of Enniscorthy.

Brooklyn received many praises from people for its screenplay and direction. The movie got three academy award nominations and won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film.

Most of the time, the writers of films tend to take inspiration from what is currently happening around them when writing a script.

Over the years, Brooklyn has been characterized by a high crime rate, drug use, and violence. This may be due to the poverty that people have been living in, especially in the projects.

Statistics show that Brooklyn is one of the leading counties with the highest crime rates in New York, apart from the Bronks. Most of the movies that I have discussed in this article have highlighted the problems people go through in Brooklyn.

The movies also end with someone learning a lesson to mean that they are trying to tell the people a better way of living.

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'Civil War' review: Kirsten Dunst leads visceral look at consequences of a divided America

We see “Civil War” trending on social media all too commonly in our divided country, for one reason or another, and usually nodding to extreme cultural or ideological differences. With his riveting new action thriller of the same name, writer/director Alex Garland delivers a riveting cautionary tale that forces viewers to confront its terrifying real-life consequences.

“Civil War” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; in theaters Friday) imagines a near-future America that’s dystopian in vision but still realistic enough to be eerily unnerving. It's a grounded, well-acted ode to the power of journalism and a thought-provoking, visceral fireball of an anti-war movie.

Played exceptionally by Kirsten Dunst , Lee is an acclaimed war photographer covering a fractured America: The Western Forces led by California and Texas have seceded from the USA and are days away from a final siege on the federal government. Lee and her reporting partner Joel (Wagner Moura) have been tasked with traveling from New York City to Washington to interview the president (Nick Offerman) before the White House falls.

After visually capturing humanity's worst moments, Lee is as world-weary and jaded as one can be. But after saving aspiring photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) during a Brooklyn suicide bombing, Lee becomes a reluctant mentor as the young woman worms her way into their crew. Also in the press van: senior journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), hitching a ride to the Western Forces military base in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Most of “Civil War” is an episodic odyssey where Lee and company view the mighty toll taken by this conflict: the graveyard of cars on what’s left of I-95, for example, or how an innocent-looking holiday stop turns deadly courtesy of an unseen shooter. Primarily, however, it’s a disturbing internal examination of what happens when we turn on each other, when weekend warriors take up arms against trained soldiers, or armed neighbors are given a way to do bad things to people they just don’t like.

'No dark dialogue!': Kirsten Dunst says 5-year-old son helped her run lines for 'Civil War'

Given its polarizing nature, “Civil War" is actually not that "political." Garland doesn’t explain what led to the secession or much of the historical backstory, and even Offerman’s president isn’t onscreen enough to dig into any real-life inspirations, outside of some faux bluster in the face of certain defeat. (He’s apparently in his third term and dismantled the FBI, so probably not a big Constitutionalist.)

Rather than two hours of pointing fingers, Garland is more interested in depicting the effect of a civil war rather than the cause. As one sniper points out in a moment when Lee and Joel are trying not to die, when someone’s shooting a gun at you, it doesn’t matter what side you’re on or who’s good and who's bad.

The director’s intellectual filmography has explored everything from ecological issues ( “Annihilation” ) to AI advancement ( “Ex Machina” ), and there are all sorts of heady themes at play in “Civil War.” “What kind of American are you?” asks a racist soldier played with a steady, ruthless cruelty by Jesse Plemons (Dunst's husband) in a disturbing scene that nods to an even deeper conflict in society than the one torching this fictionalized version. There's also an underlying sense of apathy that the characters face, with hints that much of the country is just willfully ignoring the conflict because they'd rather not think about it. But this hellish road trip also maintains a sense of hopefulness − via the growing relationship between Lee and Jessie – and is pretty exciting even with its multitude of horrors.

'You get paid a lot of money': Kirsten Dunst says she's open for another superhero movie

“Civil War” is a thoughtful movie with blockbuster ambitions, and while it does embrace more of a straightforward action flick vibe toward its climactic end, Garland still lands a lasting gut punch. He immerses audiences in the unpredictable nature of war, with gunfire and explosions leaving even the calmest sort on edge, and paints a sprawling canvas of an America forever changed. Thankfully, it’s just a warning and not a promise, using the movie theater as a public service announcement rather than an escape from the real world.

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, somewhere in queens.

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Ray Romano 's "Somewhere in Queens" is an unusual film set in the real world, about a father who is so obsessed with seeing his hoop star son go to college on a basketball scholarship that he screws up at work, sleepwalks through his own midlife crisis, and alienates his family. There's a type of viewer who reads that sort of description and thinks, "That sounds like a very unpleasant experience," and another who reads it and says, "Meh," and a third that says, "My kind of movie." Unfortunately, it's difficult to imagine a person who identifies with any of those groups wholeheartedly embracing "Somewhere in Queens" because of how it misunderstands its own strengths and underestimates the audience's willingness to go into unexpected places if a famous actor like Ray Romano is there to hold their hands.

Romano, who co-wrote the script with Mark Stegemann , stars as Leo Russo. Leo is a fiftysomething Queens husband and father who works at a family-owned home construction firm founded by his dad ( Tony LoBianco , one of many can't-miss East Coast character actors in the film's stacked cast). He and his wife Angela ( Laurie Metcalf ) are proud of their son "Sticks" ( Jacob Ward ) because he's a high school basketball star who seems to be on track to get a college athletic scholarship. Even Sticks’ dad seems to know he's not enough of a wizard on the court to go to the NBA. But going to college on a basketball scholarship is a fantasy for many people that's rarely achieved, and Leo seems to want it even more than Sticks. 

Therein lies disaster, not just for the family but the film. Sticks introduces his parents to his girlfriend Dani ( Sadie Stanley ), who he's been dating secretly for weeks, and who will break up with him soon, to preempt the inevitable long-slow-Cold War breakup that she knows will follow when they go off to separate colleges. Sticks goes into a tailspin that jeopardizes his basketball prospects, and Leo responds by ... contriving to convince Dani to get back to together with him to help him get a scholarship. 

Not only is this plot pivot gross and weird, but the movie also doesn't seem to fully recognize the grossness and weirdness. And as it pursues this storyline, turning the movie into something like a supersized, gritty "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode, with Romano channeling similar dim-bulb sad sack energy, it never fully awakens to the disaster it is inflicting on itself. There's an alternate universe where the film sunk its teeth into Leo's psychology and morphed into a great cringe comedy about an obsessed schmuck, like something Albert Brooks or Ben Stiller might have once starred in. But that's not the universe we live in. In this one, Leo's midlife crisis plays out in scenes of him disappointing his dad and brother (who are also his coworkers), repeatedly bargaining with Dani to help with his scheme (reducing the request to her just making Sticks think there's a chance at reunion) and seeming to go to the brink of cheating on his wife with a lonely, flirty woman at one of the family construction sites.

While we're watching Leo dog-paddle through a manure pit he filled up all by himself, there's a much more interesting and fresh story happening in the background about a modestly talented high school basketball player who discovers, while suffering and flailing through his first serious relationship, that he enjoys cathartically writing about what he's going through, and has a particular knack for poetry. To its credit, the film does see that there's a good story in a couple of decent kids who aren't fated to be together and the role that the crisis plays in convincing one of the kids to take a long look at himself, and ask whether what he really wants from life is to live his father's fantasy. But it’s too little, too late.

There's nothing outwardly remarkable about this movie, but it starts to seem incredibly weird when you think about the plot and how drastically the tone of the midsection clashes with what precedes and follows it. Romano is potentially a very good director of lifelike real-world comedy and drama. The film starts as a life-sized East Coast ethnic family story with a hard edge and a lot of heart, one that pitches its audience net as broadly as possible without being untrue to the characters. You get a pretty good handle on who they are very early in the story, and after that, you're on the lookout for situations that could bring out the worst in each of them, just as you might with members of your own family.

Romano doesn't seem to have put much thought into what shots mean, together or combined with other shots, which would've made this film a visual and a narrative experience. But he has a natural rapport with actors, plus good taste; he seems to know how to push on performers to push their limits but not too far. The characters are big, but the performances don't over-inflate them. Romano also seems to have a veteran stage and sitcom comedian's instinct to time a joke or an awkward moment so that it doesn't so much happen as pop , like a party snap firecracker. The family dinners, especially, have a core of instability that's exciting and unpleasant in a real way. You never know when somebody will needle somebody else a bit too hard, causing the other person to launch into a profane tirade that has the elder generation covering their ears and crossing themselves. 

There's a good movie in Romano the feature filmmaker, but this isn't it.  He misunderstands the specialness of his own film just as Leo misunderstands the specialness of Sticks. 

Now playing in theaters. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film credits.

Somewhere in Queens (2023)

Rated R for language and some sexual material.

106 minutes

Ray Romano as Leo Russo

Laurie Metcalf as Angela Russo

Jacob Ward as Sticks Russo

Sadie Stanley as Dani Brooks

Jennifer Esposito

Deirdre Friel

Jon Manfrellotti

Danny Garcia

Erik Griffin

Sebastian Maniscalco

Tony Lo Bianco

Adam Kaplan

Katie Kreisler

Franco Maicas

Jennifer Simard

• Mark Stegemann

Cinematographer

• Maceo Bishop
• Robert Nassau

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