In America Review
by Harvey S. Karten (harveycritic AT cs DOT com)August 28th, 2003
IN AMERICA
Reviewed by: Harvey S. Karten
Grade: B
Fox Searchlight Films
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Written by: Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan Cast: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Sarah Bolger, Emma Bolger, Djimon Hounsou
Screened at: Fox, NYC, 8/27/03
Would it be politically incorrect to stereotype the Irish as great storytellers? I hope not, but in any case one wonders whether TV came late to the Emerald Isle, which has given the world the fabulous stories and plays of Synge, O'Casey, Beckett and Shaw, movies from actors and directors like John Ford, John Huston, Orson Welles, Barry Fitzgerald, Eugene O'Neill, Brian Donlevy, Greer Garson, Maureen O'Hara, Cyril Cusack, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole to skim just the surface. Jim Sheridan ranks right up there with his best film, "My Left Foot" (about a feisty Irish artist-writer born with cerebral palsy), "In the Name of the Father" (a fact-based account of a young Belfast guy whom the police accuse of a terrorist bombing), "The Boxer" (an IRA member released from prison who tries to rebuild his life) and his one failure, an unmoving "The Field" (a man who has converted a rented field into a prime piece of land who goes ballistic when the owner sells it at auction). With his most personal story bearing strong elements of autobiography, his "In America"--about an Irish family determined to escape from poverty by crossing into the U.S. illegally from Canada--is also his most sentimental pic, animated by strong performances from Paddy Considine as Johnny, Samantha Morton as his wife Sarah, Emma Bolger in her debut role of the 7-year-old daughter Ariel, and Sarah Bolger, her real-life sister Christy, a girl so mature and precocious that it's scary.
Being apparently unaware of the glories of Zabar's, Gucci, Citerella and Trump Towers, the foursome appear deliriously happy as they move into a dilapidated walk-up apartment in East Harlem, drug addicts hanging out on the steps and one neighbor, Mateo (Djimon Hounsou) who appears to be seven feet tall and a tragic figure who could have come out of a Eugene O'Neill drama.
Mixing humor with pathos, Sheridan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his two daughters, Naomi Sheridan and Kirsten Sheridan and who directs the film, tells a straightforward tale seen largely from the point of view of the 11-year-old Sarah. The story opens at the Canadian border where the family pretend to be going on holiday to America. Photographing most of the action in the slums of Manhattan which photographer Declan Quinn at times contrasts with the island's glorious skyline Sheridan illustrates the joys and hardships faced by an almost penniless foursome, evoking a sad humor from Johnny's wheeling a broken-down air conditioner to the stifling walk-up apartment only to find that the plug will not fit. He tries out unsuccessfully with a theater company, but is told that his words come out strictly from above the neck rather than from the heart and what use is an actor who can't feel? Landing a job as a cab driver who has to deal with weirdos like a white passenger who annoyingly demonstrates his skill as a rapper, he recovers his faith in humanity after finding out that his intimidating neighbor Mateo has a heart of gold.
While living conditions are tough, the real problem faced by the family is its refusal to accept the death of their infant, Franky, afflicted with a brain tumor, who succumbs only after the presumably avoidable accident of falling down the stairs.
Samantha Morton, who became a household name after her mute performance in Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown" has the same ultra-short hair style, accentuating each nuance of her features. Her joy at conceiving yet another child is contrasted with her look of scorn as she blames her husband for Franky's death while for his part, Patty Considine's Johnny is so hung-up about Franky's demise that he is unable adequately to express feeling thus his inability to get employment as an actor.
Sheridan balances the humor and pathos so winningly that "In America" never descends into a disease-of-the-week special. Instead, though the film could have used more surreal touches than the one involving the tragically ill Mateo, we come away with a new appreciation of what immigrants go through to get within approachable distance from the American Dream.
Rated R. 103 minutes.(c) 2003 by Harvey Karten at
Harveycritic@cs.com
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
