In America Movie Review:


Synopsis:

Reeling from the death of their infant son, an Irish family relocate to Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, where they struggle to establish themselves.

“In America” is about a family moving to New York from Ireland after a tragedy in their lives; the death of Frankie, son of Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah (Samantha Morton) and brother of Christy (Sarah Bolger) and Ariel (Emma Bolger). They move to America, presumably, to get over the loss, or to forget about it, or just to think about it.

The film allows all of them to do all three. This is a realistic film about grief that allows all its characters space to do their own thing, and
consider their situation. It does not follow the clichés of this sub-genre, and works in unexpected ways with unexpected results.

The most unexpected thing about the film is the way it shows us the girls’ point of view. A film like this would more often concentrate solely on the
adults, and any children would merely be background players. “In America” is narrated by Christy, the ten-year-old daughter (her sister, Ariel, is six). She believes that Frankie granted her three wishes before he died, which she uses throughout the film, and which come true. This led me to wonder whether the film was wandering into the fantastic, or whether we are just hearing the girl’s memory of the events, as children can tend to remember things as being more spectacular than an adult would remember them.

The family moves into an apartment in a rough part of New York, filled with, as Sarah puts it, ‘junkies and transvestites.’ Johnny tries to find a
job as an actor, while Sarah tries to keep the family’s spirits up, or maybe just her own. The performance by Samantha Morton is excellent; she is playing a character somewhere between a mature adult and an innocent child, and manages to pull off both. Notice the way she smiles at her family’s happiness, and then she stops smiling, as she remembers who is missing.

We are introduced to Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), the strange neighbour who paints alone in his apartment and leads to more (I can’t think of a better word) magic, especially in the film’s climax, which brings the different elements of the film together in a way I found more touching than anything else in the film.

There are a lot of very effective scenes. One features Johnny gambling at a fair ground for an “E.T.” doll (the family go to see it at the cinema, and it has a deep effect on Ariel), his gambling spiralling out of control until we are reminded that, when you gamble too much and win, the feeling is more one of relief than joy. Another involves Johnny realising that Mateo is hiding something. Another has Christy prove how mature and brave she is. These are excellent, powerful scenes.

Yet, I feel, the film is flawed, and did not have the emotional impact I felt it should have had. The innocent, almost enchanting, perspective
of the girls (who give wonderful performances, by the way) is interesting, as is the perspective of the adults. But these are so different that I felt
as if I was watching two different approaches to the material spliced together into a single film. The film walks the line between a fantasy
fairytale about coming to an exciting new land and the reality of family tragedy, and does not succeed in marrying the two as well as it might have. I realise that the difference in view between the children and the parents may well be part of the film’s point, and that families are left messed up and divided by tragedy.

Yet some of the scenes in this movie are so
different from others that they seem at right angles to each other, and part of the impact is lost.

“In America” is directed by Jim Sheridan, who has claimed much of the film’s content is based on fact (the film is dedicated to Frankie Sheridan, his brother who died of a brain tumour).

I do not doubt his claim, but that is not what is essential here, it's emotional honesty. The film does have this, but not as strong as it could have done. I wanted to become more emotionally involved with the characters than I felt I was allowed to
be.

I am recommending it though, because it is brave and well made and, more than anything else, for those two girls. I’ve not seen many films where children are given the chance to show us how they deal with loss.

Perhaps that is what
the film should have been concentrating on. Or perhaps it should have found a better way to let the children’s story and the adult’s story run parallel.

It’s a good film, but not the great one that I believe it could have been.

*** (out of 5)

Adam Whyte

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 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 = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

Director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) brings a raw, authentic feel to this film that completely disarms us, and makes it much more than the run-of-the-mill immigrant drama.

As the film opens, Sarah and Johnny (Morton and Considine) drive across the Canadian border into the USA with their two precocious daughters (Sarah Bolger as the 10-year-old narrator of the story; with Emma as her sparky younger sister). Life in Manhattan isn't terribly easy as neither Sarah nor Johnny can get work in their respective fields; Sarah waits tables instead of teaching and Johnny drives a cab while preparing for acting auditions. Their life is a series of small adventures, both comic and terrifying. But the real challenge is to deal with their past.

This is completely naturalistic filmmaking--unaffected performances and a gently meandering storyline that never gives us a clue where it's heading next. We wonder about the big scary man (the terrific Hounsou) living downstairs in the junkie apartment building. We worry about life on the mean streets of New York City. It's very realistic and gritty, but also extremely funny and heartwarming, centring on deeply personal issues of loneliness and frustration rather that major plot points.

Performances are superb; the Bolger sisters are fantastic, and could easily be the progeny of Considine and Morton, who make their characters so honest that we travel this emotional journey right with them. There are a few obvious and preachy moments, and all the circle of life/multi-cultural melting pot stuff is rather contrived.

But for a story about normal, everyday life (and death), this is an extraordinary film, really.

Rich Cline

“And a child shall lead them into a new light.”

That immortal quote from the Bible came to mind as I watched the new family drama, “In America”. The eyes of a child are precious and innocent but also often show us a new and enlightening look at the simplest things of our lives. It is that interpretation that parent and filmmaker Jim Sheridan hopes to capture in his new personal and emotional film.

The filmmaker chronicles the lives of Irish émigrés Johnny and Sarah (Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton) as they come to New York City with their two young daughters. Johnny is a struggling actor who just wants to feed his family. Sarah is a waitress who tries to hide the sins of world from her impressionable children. When the family is forced to live in a rundown apartment complex each of the parent’s jobs becomes more desperate. It is their combined spirits and perseverance that will help them prevail.

Through the lens of their eldest daughter’s video camera the family’s life unfolds. A family secret will bring them closer together but also try to drive them apart. A fellow tenant, Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), will also help these new “Americans” embrace their world and get a chance at making a new life in the Big Apple.

“In America” in the purest of words is an inspiration. Through the struggle of this family, the wide innocence of the youngest daughter and the emotional struggle of Mateo, we not only learn about ourselves but we embrace the thought. The combination of hidden meanings and thought-provoking situations, “In America” is truly about us all.

In many scenes I could see a striking resemblance between Paddy Considine and actor Gary Oldman. Considine’s raw portrayal of struggling father Johnny is a force to be reckoned with. He is able to show us not only the character’s internal struggle but his physical plight as well. Considine is able to do it on a pure wim.

Samantha Morton, probably best known for playing a “pre-cog” in the sci-fi actioner “Minority Report”, shows such range and talent as the mother of this struggling family. Her character is able to grow, bleed and be reborn through the course of the family’s journey. It is a beautiful performance housed in such a raw reality.

Even though Considine and Morton are razor-sharp in their performances, it is the two daughters (also sisters in real-life) steal the show. Their performances compliment each other and how they are flawless on showing us the world around them. They are key to making this film work and they do it so effortlessly.

I did have a couple problems with the film regarding some darker scenes which interrupts the film’s flow and journey. I also questioned some of the filmmaker’s motives on those choices.

Besides those tiny flaws, this film is one of the finest of the year. Not only from its fresh perspective but how amazing it is in depth and magic. (4.5 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer

Dean Kish

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