In America
Cast
Paddy Considine .... Johnny
Samantha Morton .... Sarah
Sarah Bolger .... Christy
Emma Bolger .... Ariel
Neal Jones .... Immigration Officer #1
Directed by
Jim Sheridan
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
7/10. If there's one thing I don't understand, it's glaring continuity
errors. I understand that films cannot be completely perfect, and
some technical issues may be in, but when a film, which I believe is
set in the 1980's, has various ads for products of the new
millennium. I've read up on why that happened, and director Jim
Sheridan said that they were intentional. If I were to direct a film
set in a certain time period, I would certainly just put in a few
things like that for fun, but in In America, it ruins the authentic
feel of the movie, one that doesn't mess around. As much as I hate to
say this on a story based on Sheridan's true life, he seems to direct
it too light-heartedly. It's a serious story, and shouldn't be
treated like that.
Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah (Samantha Morton) have recently
moved to New York with their young daughters Christy (Sarah Bolger)
and Ariel (Emma Bolger) from Ireland. With basically no money and low-
paying jobs, Johnny and Sarah struggle to make ends meet, while
Christy and Ariel see it as a place where anything is possible. In
their run-down apartment, they meet a large black man whose bark is
worse than his bite named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou) who helps them
through.
Sheridan's directing is really on-and-off. As I mentioned earlier, he
was having too much of a good time while directing it, while he
should have been more serious. However, he can create tension by
using the regular clich�s, but still keep it tense. It's odd to see a
rather comical scene turn into a gripped-to-your-seat tense scene,
but there's one scene that does that. While at a carnival, Johnny
decides to win an E.T. doll for Ariel. Although Sheridan uses the
overused slow motion, that one brief scene takes your emotions and
holds them in midair: you really have no clue what will happen.
The rest of the story I found interesting enough, but oftentimes it
was just like another "struggling immigrant" story. Heartwrenching,
yes, but nothing new. As the ads tote, this is Sheridan's most
personal film. It's obvious to see that, as the entire family has
realistic chemistry with each other. The spirit of a true story is
there, and it shows. I could go more into detail on every little
aspect of this film, but I will close with this: In America is
nowhere near as good as the other critics say, but if you do go in,
prepare to be moved.
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, drug references, brief violence and language. (edited version, Rated R for non-edited version)
Running time: 103-107 minutes
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