“In America” (2003) – “No matter who you are or what you look like, how you started off, or who you love, America is a place where you can write your own destiny.” – former U.S. President Barack Obama
“Our nation is the enduring dream of every immigrant who ever set foot on these shores, and the millions still struggling to be free…this idea called America was and always will be a new world.” – former U.S. President George H.W. Bush
“We came to America because we had to get away from things.” – Christy Sullivan (Sarah Bolger)
The year is 1982, and the Sullivan family – Johnny (Paddy Considine), Sarah (Samantha Morton), and their two pre-teen daughters, Christy (Bolger) and Ariel (Emma Bolger) – hope to cross the Canadian border and into the United States. Mom and Dad inform the girls that their Irish clan’s official story to the border guards is, “We’re on holiday.”
Not true.
The Sullivans are on a one-way trip to New York City. They soon arrive in The Big Apple. Johnny hopes to become a theatre actor, and Sarah can teach to help pay the bills.
They move into a dilapidated apartment building, one with a broken elevator, hallway walls with peeling paint and graffiti, and a few drug addicts casually but seemingly always linger outside the front door. Linger, not loiter, because the said gentlemen reside in the same crumbling abode.
Money is scarce for this fresh-faced foursome but not love. This loving family care for one another, but they circle the wagons a bit. They are coping with tragedy, as Christy and Ariel’s brother (and Johnny and Sarah’s son) Frankie recently died. Frankie passed off-camera before we meet the Sullivans.
However, they hope to write a different destiny and reach new dreams in director Jim Sheridan’s “In America”, an immigrant story and a considerate and soulful arthouse film filled with on-point tonal choices and five beautiful performances, including the Oscar-nominated Djimon Hounsou’s, as the Sullivans’ neighbor, Mateo.
Written by Sheridan and his daughters, Naomi and Kirsten, “In America” is semi-autobiographical, as Jim moved from Ireland to Canada and then to New York City during the 1980s. Sheridan’s younger brother Frankie died when Jim was 17, and he dedicates this film to him.
(Morton and the Sheridans were nominated for Oscars as well, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay, respectively.)
The Sheridans’ writing easily translates to the big screen, as Considine, Morton, and the Bolger girls all feel in tune with their characters’ authentic bonds. Credit the actors for understanding the assignment, as the Sullivans collectively deal with grief, each one specifically highlighted. Thankfully, these strangers in a strange land are supportive of one another and grateful for their blessings.
For instance, Sarah can’t obtain a teaching position, so she works at a local ice cream parlor without complaint while Johnny struggles to land a role. They live in a massive space, but their apartment is filled with random pigeons, and a bathtub that sits in the middle of the open floor plan. They walk on uneven floorboards and hope for the best for hot water while pipes creak behind the plaster.
It isn’t a lot, but all the Sullivans pitch in to make their household a presentable home, and their resiliency is infectious. Straight away, the script establishes this emotionally and financially struggling family as earnest and vulnerable, and we’re instantly applauding their small victories and cursing their setbacks.
For instance, Jim dramatically raises the stakes with this audience-character connection during Johnny’s attempt to win a high-wire carnival game in an immensely stressful scene crafted so skillfully that you’ll need to check a mirror when the film ends to determine if your hair turned white.
“In America” is a slice-of-life movie with one exception, a significant plot point centered around Sarah and her health.
Otherwise, Johnny’s auditions, Sarah’s work, and the Sullivans acclimating to NYC life soon fall away. The film does focus on one moment where the girls struggle to fit in with their new Catholic school, but primarily, Mom, Dad, and the daughters challenge and counsel themselves within their four walls to settle on the past while pushing toward their future.
Mateo – an artist known as “The Man Who Screams” and who paints “KEEP OUT” on his apartment door – plays a role in their healing, and the Sullivans, especially the girls – who aren’t afraid of him – return support through pure kindness.
The new relationship between the Sullivans and Mateo is fostered on trust, and we hope it won’t break due to Johnny’s ego or potentially false impressions of the artist’s intentions. Hounsou effectively plays Mateo as a loose cannon, a wildcard, and a gentle soul.
Will their friendship last forever?
Forever is a long time, but “In America” gives us about a year in New York City, where Sheridan references a particular magical 1982 movie throughout the picture. Christy – 11 or 12 – narrates the film, which nods to the Sheridan sisters’ efforts and overlays a mystical, fairy-tale vibe on the family’s pragmatic stress and emotional churn.
Not every immigrant story is magical, but this one and this movie are eternally captivating.
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Written by: Jim, Naomi, and Kirsten Sheridan
Starring: Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou, Sarah Bolger, and Emma Bolger
Runtime: 105 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Image credits: Fox Searchlight Pictures
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐
