There’s something distinctly surreal about writing a film blog right in the middle of a movie set but that’s where I am! Unexpectedly, I find myself living smack-bang in the middle of the set of John Crowley’s new movie “Brooklyn” which starts shooting on Monday 1st April.

Since the beginning of the week an army of workers from the film company have been returning Enniscorthy’s Castle Street to something how it might have looked in the 1950s – in fairness little has changed since then but their work has improved the appearance of the place immeasurably!

Brooklyn is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Irish author Colm Tóibín – a native of Enniscorthy – and tells the story of a young woman Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) who emigrates from 1950s Ireland to America to find work. While there she falls in love and marries an Italian plumber called Tony. However, she is forced to return home to Ireland when her sister dies unexpectedly. Leaving her new husband behind, she arrives back in Enniscorthy and soon slips back into the social scene among friends, and potential suitors, who don’t know of her married status….

Other actors involved include Domhnall Gleeson, Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent, although I have to admit that I haven’t seen any of them yet!

More to follow…

Production Company: Wildgaze Films, Parallel Film Productions, Irish Film Board. Director: John Crowley. Scriptwriter: Nick Hornby.