Last night, I watched a moving romantic period drama called Brooklyn, starring the wonderful Saoirse Ronan – whom you might remember from other standout performances in Lady Bird, Little Women, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. One of the aspects of the film I found especially touching was its soundtrack, which is the focus of today’s article. The original score, released on October 30, 2015, is a 39-minute orchestral work crafted to mirror the protagonist’s inner emotional journey. But first, the music needs a bit of context – so below is the film’s storyline.
IMDB Storyline:
Ireland, early 1950s. Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) is a young woman working in a grocery shop. She has greater ambitions and moves to Brooklyn, New York, leaving her mother and sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott), behind. She is terribly homesick but eventually settles down, finding a job, studying to be a bookkeeper and meeting a nice young Italian man, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen). Things are going well, but then she learns that Rose has died, and decides to return to Ireland, temporarily. She and Tony hastily get married, and then she sets off back to Ireland, alone. Life is about to get complicated.
The film’s music, both score and soundtrack, plays a central role in storytelling, reflecting the protagonist’s internal conflict between her past in Ireland and her new life in Brooklyn. Composer Michael Brook aimed to create a score that was “emotional” yet “slightly unpredictable,” avoiding sentimentality while subtly underscoring the film’s emotional beats. He recorded the score at Abbey Road Studios with a large string section, using a manual piano instead of a sampled one for a more authentic feel. The score incorporates subtle instrumentation to evoke the contrast between Ireland and America, using mandolin in Irish scenes and clarinet and upright bass in American segments.
The score received critical acclaim for its emotional depth and subtlety, with critics praising its ability to evoke tears without manipulation. It was nominated for several awards, including the Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Score, which it won.
In my articles discussing movie soundtracks, I usually highlight my favourite pieces from the film – as I’ve done below. Each piece is presented in my order of preference (not in the order they appear in the movie or on the soundtrack) and are as follows:
- Proposal,
- Rose Dies, and
- Goodbye Ellis
References:
1. Music of Brooklyn (film) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
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