"Brooklyn" or Brackley Beach?

Ireland or PEI?

PEI or Ireland?

Tonight I watched the film Brooklyn and loved it for maybe all the wrong reasons: It reminded me of my own home on Prince Edward Island, and also of our Island narrative.






When the camera caressed the dunes in Ireland, I was positive that the movie was being filmed on Brackley Beach, so alike were the locations (Brooklyn's beach scenes were filmed on Curracloe Strand, Ireland.

And then I kept seeing Megan Follows' face in Saoirse Ronan's. Megan is, of course, better known as Anne of Green Gables. Both heroines have intelligence in their eyes, and a can-do spirit.

But what of the choices each heroine makes at the end of her story? Anne stays home on the Island -- where Gilbert also is -- and Eilis returns to Brooklyn --where Jim is not, but where Tony is.

In Brooklyn here's also a bit of Mr. Selfridge, with a touch of Mrs. Rachel Lynde. No raspberry cordial, but spaghetti lessons with a spoon, which is akin to drinking too much cordial/currant wine; it just isn't done, but serves the plot well.