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In America 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Jim Sheridan
PG-13, 103 min. (some sexuality, drug references, language) |
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Starring: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Sarah Bolger, Emma Bolger, Djimon Hounsou
Producers: Jim Sheridan, Arthur Lappin
Screenplay: Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan
Cinematography: Declan Quinn
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Released: 11.26.03 (Limited) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Director Jim Sheridan's In America is one of the most moving pictures of the year, unforced and unmanipulative,
and with a real-life sensibility that touches a nerve with viewers. The film centers around an Irish immigrant family that
arrives in New York City searching not only for a better life, but for a life that will help them escape a haunting tragedy.
Set in the 1980s, In America presents its characters as distinctly individual, despite most of them residing in the
same family unit. They each deal with instances of happiness and sadness in their own way, yet find a way to be valuable
members of the struggling family. Sheridan tempers the maudlin tendencies of his film with an elegant mixture of
grace and raw intimacy, which imbues a tender authenticity to the proceedings. It comes as no surprise then that the film's
closing scenes are equally both powerful and poignant, a signature piece of filmmaking that is about as flawless as one could
expect from such a sublimely constructed storyline.
The close-knit family is led by Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah (Samantha Morton), whose two daughters,
Christie (Sarah Bolger) and Ariel (Emma Bolger), do their best to put on brave faces during moments when their parents
feel the sting of their infant brother's tragic death of a brain tumor. After crossing the U.S./Canada border they find a
shabby, drug-infested apartment in New York, where Johnny must carry a heavy, dilapidated air conditioner to quell the
sweltering summer heat. His momentary triumph is offset by the device's demise, which pretty much sums up the ebb and
flow of the story's peak and valley structure. While Johnny looks for work as an actor and Sarah takes a job in an ice
cream parlor, Christie and Ariel meet Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), a strange apartment neighbor that uses his volatile emotions
(he screams uncontrollably at times when alone) to create paintings with a combination of angst and beauty. Soon Mateo
has initiated the healing process in the family, which finally comes face to face with its buried grief.
Because Johnny has lost his ability to feel geniune emotion, Christie has become a sort of comforter/leader for the family,
at one point telling snapping at her father, "I've been carrying this family on my back for over a year." She sees the unresolved
hurt in her mother's somber eyes and the need for replaced innonence in her sister's behavior. The story is told through her
eyes, and Sheridan frames his scenes through the filtered lense of her perspective. In the film's most riveting moment,
Johnny confronts Mateo's good intentions, and, in a neat revelation, learns a secret that sparks new life in both his and
Mateo's soul. In response to Johnny's accusation of his love for Sarah, Mateo shouts, "I love you. I love your wife. And I love
your children." He sees something in their family that can heal his bitterness and soothe his anger.
The screenplay, written by Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kirsten, has an intelligence and insight that most family-centered
dramas lack. Consider the number of small pleasures and crushing defeats that balance each passing day. And the recognizable
helplessness that is powerfully portrayed during a sequence that shows Johnny desperately try and win a doll for Ariel despite
the fact that he is paying several times its worth during a simple carnival ball throwing contest. Or the simple games that
the family enjoys, happy to be in each other's presence. In retrospect, it becomes apparent that the film is made up entirely
of such natural, geniune moments that define our lives. But the orchestration of such related events is masterfully executed
by Sheridan's willingness to allow the screenplay and actors do their work without heavy-handed interference.
The performances are some of the most natural, unforced efforts in some time. Led by the uncompromising talent of
Samantha Morton (who is quickly laying claim to best living female actor today after astonishing work in Sweet and Lowdown, Minority Report, and Morvern Callar),
whose broken soul slowly heals amidst the inspiration of her children, the cast shines. Considine
portrays the hollow center of a man that has reached an abyss of emotion. Real life siblings Sarah and Emma Bolger
provide two of the most raw and heartfelt performances from children on the big screen in many years. And Hounsou's
authoritative presence lends a deeply rooted belief in redemption through the act of helping others. There's never a hint
of manufactured melodrama to be found here.
I'm amazed at the power of such small, intimate films that are well acted and directed; they're like hidden gems amidst
the rubble of mainstream dreck that litters the teen-targeted Hollywood landscape. When filmmakers like Sheridan present
us with honest characters and meaningful themes, it restores our faith in the merits of cinema, even if their exposure level
is limited to more discerning viewers. In America isn't so much about a family that finds itself within the eclectic borders of
America's diversity, but more a reminder of the promise of a country that offers a chance to start over, both financially
and spiritually. Never has the bittersweet bonds of poverty looked more attractive or inspiring.
© 2003 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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