In America

As a film director I attend many screenings. As a film lover I have been going to films all my life since I was a "kid" in the Bronx. This film, "In America" is one for the ages. Not one false note or as we say in the "biz"--not one hiccup. Jim Sheridan has been a extraordinary film-maker since "My Left Foot"--but this film is simply beyond words!

"In America" is about an Irish family of four who enter America at the Canadian border, sell their car for money, take up residence in a slum-like walkup in NYC inhabited by losers and druggies, and proceed to do really stupid things like let their little girls eat ice cream across the street unattended or bet all their money on a stupid carney game or enter an unknown black man's apartment while trick or treating. The film continues from there fabricating, manufacturing, and contriving moments with the obvious purpose of evoking emotions...joy, pathos, angst, woe, etc. And it worked. I could go on but anything I write will simply be lost in the wake of plaudits from all corners. "In America" is a hugely popular flick with a good cast, excellent performances, and solid production value recommended for everyone but me. (B)

I love this little film. I was pregnant at the time when I saw it with my husband who is from Ireland. We both enjoyed the film for it's romance, it's humanity, and qualities that were so earthy and yet somehow ethereal. It was both beautiful and moving--one of those rare finds that illuminates, truth, beauty, and the honesty that art can evoke. Art--especially the theater and cinema has the power to inspire and can be so powerful. This film is living proof of that. The film has an integrity and a quality of strength that few films ever capture. It is my dream to both create and perform in little films like this. I want to inspire and create something that makes a spiritual leap--something that lasts and endures for all time because of its quality of a diamond in the rough. If you want to see something a bit unusual, though provoking, emotional, and rare--see this film.

I'm not really big on this kind of film, but this one won me over in a big way. Jim Sheridan has such a sure hand as a director that even as the story meanders along, and you're not quite sure where things are going, you know HE knows and you end up trusting him and going along for whatever ride he wants to take you on. The characters and the actors portraying them are so winning, you don't want the movie to end. You just want to stay with them forever.

Every role, right down to the two border guards and the hospital administrator are perfectly cast and performed. The two sisters playing the daughters are amazing. But the acting in the film really belongs to Samantha Morton. It really is a high wire act. In lesser hands this character might have been completely unbelievable. But her love for her husband and children is so palpable, you completely buy everything she has to go through with them.

There were so many chances for cheap sentiment here, but the movie never went there. Really beautiful.

Greetings again from the darkness. I have no idea what has taken so long for this film to be released. Director/Producer/Writer Jim Sheridan ("My Left Foot", "In the Name of the Father" "The Boxer") has always been a tremendous filmmaker and with "In America" he has become a wonderful story teller. This semi-autobiographical picture was co-written by Sheridan and his two daughters and is the story of an Irish family's immigration to New York. I am a fan of Levinson's "Avalon" and Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" and I will rank this with both. It causes what I call "crossover". That is when I no longer feel I am watching a movie, but that I become part of the story. The characters are no longer actors, but real people. The writing, directing and acting are all terrific. Paddy Considine (a Stephen Rea lookalike), Samantha Morton ("Minority Report"), Djimon Hounsou ("Gladiator") are all exceptional in their roles. However, this movie belongs to the real-life Bolger sisters, Sarah and Emma, who play Christy and Ariel. Ariel's innocence and need to believe along with Christy's wisdom-beyond-her-years truly make this film work. Rarely do child actors carry a movie of significance. While these two bring joy, laughter, sadness and tears, they never cross the line of overly cute or overly sympathetic. Another odd twist to this film is the importance that Spielberg's "ET" plays. The dream of home and the presence of aliens (drug dealers, etc) in their tenemant tie in nicely. Their friendship with Mateo (Hounsou) is both bizarre and heartwarming. This is an extremely emotional ride for the audience, but one well worth taking.