Brooklyn (2015)

Home isn't always the place you come from - sometimes it's the life you have the courage to build. John Crowley's "Brooklyn," adapted by Nick Hornby from Colm Tóibín's best-selling novel, stars Saoirse Ronan in an Oscar-nominated performance as Eilis Lacey, a young woman who leaves her small Irish hometown of Enniscorthy for 1950s Brooklyn in search of opportunity. Her older sister, Rose, arranges the move with the help of a kindly Irish priest, Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), who finds her a job at a department store. Crippled by homesickness at first, she slowly finds her footing, living in a boarding house run by the sharp-tongued Mrs. Kehoe (Julie Walters), taking night classes in bookkeeping and falling for Tony (Emory Cohen), a charming Italian-American plumber who takes her to Coney Island and introduces her to his boisterous family. But when tragic news calls her back to Ireland, she meets Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson), a gentle, well-off young man, and is offered a job and a comfortable future at home. Eilis must choose between two countries - and two very different futures. The film earned three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and Ronan's luminous, understated performance was widely praised. You'll be moved by its quiet grace.