As I was telling my students, I don’t usually go to see romantic movies. If there is any romance, it’s accidental. The films I see are usually as weird as I am. “Brooklyn,” now up for an unjustified Best Picture nomination is an exception, and one I’m happy I made. Why would I say that if I just declared my disapproval of the nomination?. Well, I enjoyed the film, but it’s really not that special, except in its kindness and romance. It’s also got some lovely acting, especially the two leads, Saoirse Ronan as Eilis, a shy young working-class Irish woman who leaves her mother and sister in an Ireland with no future and nothing going for it and emigrates to Brooklyn in the early 1950s to find her way in the world, and Emory Cohen as Tony Fiorello (paging Mayor LaGuardia!), the kind, devoted, handsome plumber who completely falls for and woos her. No Mafia caricatures here, just a hardworking third generation (from the accents at least) Italian-American family. Lots of humor in the boarding house Eilis occupies, many kind fellow immigrants helping her from the boat through the workplace to uplift via education, and a priest (nicely turned by the talented Jim Broadbent) so kind he makes Spencer Tracey’s Father Flanagan seem like a debauched libertine. Events lead her, now more worldly wise, back to Ireland and force her to make some tough decisions about her future. It’s a very nice film and was sweet to watch, a bit too sweet, really, what with the little brother who cracks wise with the best of them and despite the witches who make for a slight counterpoint. . But I’m a softie at heart and liked this sweet side of Brooklyn. It’s just not what I think of as Best Picture material