In America DVD Review:

After the tragic death of their son Frankie, Sarah (Morton) and Johnny (Considine) move from their native Ireland to the bright lights of New York City. For sisters Christy (Sarah Bolger) and Ariel (Emma Bolger) it is the start of a new adventure but for Christy it meant so much more. As her parents tried to recover from the loss, Christy saw it as her responsibility to hold the family together and get them through it all.

Writer/director Jim Sheridan takes us on another emotional Irish journey in probably his most personal film.

Coping with loss is always a powerful and moving cinematic subject but when it is told through the eyes of a child the heartstrings are pulled that much tighter. This is Christy’s story about her family and how she has to be strong for her parents and younger sister after losing her brother to cancer. She bottles up all her emotion only releasing it to her camcorder as she narrates her American story. She sees her father’s bottled up grief, her mother taking the blame and her young sister’s innocent questions going unanswered.

A film of this type wouldn’t work without strong performances and the cast rise to the challenge. Samantha Morton is making a real name for herself as a fine character actress and again she does disappoint as Sarah. Paddy Considine is also starting to get himself noticed by making Johnny a very sympathetic character, whose grief has transformed him so much that his young daughter barely recognises him anymore. Djimon Hounsou is as good as ever as secretive neighbour Mateo, but I would have liked his character to have had more background story and screen time.

The stars of the film are Sarah and Emma Bolger. Here we have two child actresses who are so natural, you can’t believe that they are acting. Sarah narrates and carries the film as Christy. The whole movie plays out through her eyes and the lens of her camcorder. This is her story and the fact that she can be no more than eight years old makes what she is coping with all that more powerful. Young Emma as Ariel is the comedic heart of the movie. Her character’s innocent outlook on the world relieves the tension and emotion of the piece and it is made all the more believeable by her very natural performance.

In America is a well-written look at how a family copes with such a dramatic loss. While the story itself may be slightly sugar coated in parts, the quality of the acting and a growing fondness for the characters will make you want to find out what happens in the end, hoping that it is a happy one.

Star Rating = * * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and as with most modern transfers it is very good. Jim Sheridan’s visual flair is really brought to the forefront with strong colours especially during the autumn scenes. The sound is also good, emphasising dialogue very strongly which you’d expect for a film that is driven by it.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by Director Jim Sheridan
In this passionate and informative commentary, Jim Sheridan talks freely about how story reflects his family’s own move to American. He discusses casting and how Emma Bolger got the part and then went on introduce the director to her sister Sarah. He also talks frankly about how his brother’s death was reflected in the film and how it shows such an innocent time in his and his family’s life.

A Personal Journey: The Making of In America (20.19 mins)

The cast, director and co-writers talk about the film’s ten-year journey to the screen. This autobiographical piece drew real passion not just from the writers Jim Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kristen but from the cast also. You also get to see Sarah and Emma’s casting videos and each of the main cast discussing their characters.

Deleted Scenes (12.01 mins)

Ten deleted or alternative scenes with selectable audio commentary by director Jim Sheridan are entitled “Johnny fixes the fuse box”, “Autumn and the Star-Spangled banner”, “That’s Frankie”, “Boots”, “Are there birds in Africa”, “I shall be redeemed”, “The dish ran away with the spoon”, “We’re all the same”, “Frank attacks Johnny” and an alternative ending.

Trailers
Previews of Master & Commander: The Far side of the World, Runaway Jury, Garage Days and The Dreamers

OVERALL

A heart warming and touching story of family is backed up by some good extras. The featurette gives you an insight into the characters and the story behind the film, add to this the passionate and informative commentary by Jim Sheridan and you get a nicely packaged DVD.

DVD Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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