gavin6942 A family of Irish immigrants adjust to life on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen while also grieving the death of a child.The film was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay for the Sheridans, Best Actress for Samantha Morton and Best Supporting Actor for Djimon Hounsou. Yet, the real reason to watch this is for the two sisters and how charming they are.Ebert wrote, "In America is not unsentimental about its new arrivals (the movie has a warm heart and frankly wants to move us), but it is perceptive about the countless ways in which it is hard to be poor and a stranger in a new land." More than this, it shows an interesting cross-section of race and nationality. Not the great film it wants to make itself out to be, but still a rather light-hearted walk down the path of modern immigration (keeping it even lighter by having the immigrants speak English).

Chris L A true story doesn't always make a good movie, and that is the case for In America.The first part is more than average and rather touching: it shows well the difficulties this broken hearted and penniless family goes through when immigrating to the US.But once you pass the 45 minute mark, the script flounders, struggles to find a second wind, and we are served scenes each one more boring than the other, sometimes with overused clichés of the melodramatic genre.Even if Jim Sheridan is profoundly sincere in his approach and the cast is convincing, the young ones on top, it is not enough to make this autobiographical chronicle a quality feature.

billcr12 In America is a heart felt love letter to America written by the director Jim Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kirsten and what a beautiful story it is. A man and wife travel to the United States with their two little girls played by real life sisters Emma and Sarah Bolger. Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton are the mother & father. The four actors, most especially the kids, provide some of the best performances I have ever seen. Mr. Sheridan's first film was My Left Foot with Daniel Day Lewis. The man knows how to direct and get the most out of his cast. The grittiness of New York City in the summer heat is captured brilliantly and the great melting pot which is the big apple is portrayed perfectly. I live in a suburb north of NY City, so I've had the opportunity to visit from time to time and the movie captures the soul of NY as well as any movie I've seen. Sheridan has stated that the story is based on his life and experiences arriving here with little money and few prospects.The family struggles to survive and like many previous generations from around the world they learn to adapt there surroundings very quickly. I will not spoil this with to many details, I will just recommend this to anyone looking for something worthwhile.

Movie_Muse_Reviews Rather than a gritty drama about Irish immigrants struggling to make due, Jim Sheridan has turned the downtrodden parts of New York City into the backdrop for a real-life fairy tale in his film "In America."Instead of frightening us with frank confrontations of real-world problems in the form of drug dealers, trouble paying the rent and following one's dreams, the film holds closer to the family's two little girls, presenting events with a sense of wonder and at times a more raw child-like fear rather than true danger. So what seems like a film about an Irish-American family with Irish-American issues is actually a film about a unique family with its own unique issues, namely a ghost of the past that burdens all of them.The Sullivans, Johnny (Paddy Considine), Sarah (Samantha Morton), Christy (Sarah Bolger) and Ariel (Emma Bolger) move to Manhattan in hopes that Johnny can launch his acting career. They move into an apartment in the rough part of town and try to settle in, except from the very beginning it's clear that the family is still grieving the loss of its only son, Frankie, who died of a tumor.Whereas Frankie's death has impacted Johnny and Sarah in real ways, the girls have a unique understand and perspective on their departed brother. Christy, the film's narrator and a brilliant little girl (as both character and actress) asks him to grant her three wishes throughout the course of the film at pivotal moments. Both Bolger girls are quite gifted and they give the film its wholesome and at times even magical tone.Frankie's death is both the spoken and unspoken source of conflict in the film, which otherwise serves as a portrait of American life in one particular time in one particular place. Some scenes provide humor and levity whereas others are more thought-provoking. One such scene takes place at a street carnival where Johnny nearly throws away an entire paycheck on a carnival game in order to win Ariel a stuffed animal version of E.T. That scene almost says it all about this little gem.The most powerful chapter of the film, however, involves Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), an African-American artist living downstairs. He's painted "Keep Away" on his door and the girls have often heard screaming from inside his apartment, but on Halloween they bravely knock on his door and they form an unusual friendship that has quite emotional results."In America" has a very personal feel to it and that's evidenced by the dedication before the credits to his late brother Frankie (and also given that he collaborated on the script with this siblings). Although not quite what you're expected in terms of dramatics, "In America" is moving and an absolute pleasure to watch.~Steven CVisit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com