In America (2004)
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Director: Cast: Country: Year: 2004 Score: MPAA Rating: |
Drama, 2003, Rated PG-13
Director: Jim Sheridan
Writer: Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan
Cast: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Djimon Hounsou
Score: **
The slowly fading image of the American flag at the start of Jim Sheridan’s family odyssey to New York City tells quite a bit of the story he is about to relate in his earnest semi-autobiographical film. For one, the classic American dream is over-rated and non-existent. Sheridan’s family comprises Irish émigrés Johnny (Paddy Considine from the little seen A Room for Romeo Brass) and Sarah (academy award nominee Samantha Morton from Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown) with their two daughters, Kristy and Arial (sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger). They move to a gothic run-down tenement, dare to knock on the door of “the screaming man,” a mysterious neighbor named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), and everything changes. As the family heads for a crisis, Mateo becomes their unlikely ally in the territory where hope, faith and even magic hold sway.
In America has been touted as the best British film to have been made this year. Indeed, Sheridan has tried his damndest best which is too hard for the film’s own sake, so much so that every scene has to end at some dramatic high point. Johnny’s transport of an air-conditioner has to be taken across a busy street with vehicles whizzing by or a trip to the amusement park must end with a fanfare after Johnny finally wins the E.T. doll for his daughter.
But the film is a hybrid of both a family’s trials and tribulations while entering a new land as well as the parents‚ purging of the demons hovering over the loss of their son, Frankie (not shown on-screen). Sheridan obviously brings the film towards its logical conclusion with the family settled in and husband and wife ready to live anew.
With the film ending with the title “dedicated to Frankie,” it would take a reviewer with a heart of stone to pan a film made right from the heart. But not all good intentions lead to successful results. In America comes across as too hokey and too earnest for its own good.
GILBERT SEAH was born in Singapore and moved to Toronto in 1982. He is an engineer by profession, with a passion for the cinema. Since the age of 10, he has been to the movies almost daily. Having been brought up in the Asian, British and Canadian cultures, he is able to bring a distinct perspective to film.
Review by: Cinema Eye
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In America (2003)
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Director: Cast: Country: Year: 2003 Score: MPAA Rating: |
Director: Jim Sheridan
Cast: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Djimon Hounsou
Although I know things were often tight financially, I can’t remember a time when my parents were unable to pay our bills. If there was such a time, they didn’t let us know about it. They didn’t want to concern me or my brother about it. They let us be children. In America brings back the blissful ignorance that comes with the innocence of childhood. It’s so easy to become all consumed by finances, social statues, and career that many of us forget the ties of family.
In America, the latest film from directory Jim Sheridan, is a story about an Irish family immigrating illegally to the United States after the loss of a son. They find a run-down little apartment in Manhattan where they start their new life. The mother, a tender-hearted woman played by Samantha Morton, finds a job in the local ice cream parlor. Her husband drives a taxi to pay the bills while trying to get his acting career off the ground. The father, brilliantly played by Paddy Considine is the cornerstone of the film, keeping the family afloat yet neglecting his own needs for healing. The two girls are delightful. The oldest has found a way to view the world through the video documentation of her surroundings while her younger sister searches for a friend that she can share secrets with.
While trick-or-treating in their apartment building, the two sisters meet Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), an African man who lives downstairs. His door bears a sign reading “Keep Out!” as he is battling great depression and anger. Even though he yells “Leave me alone!”, the girls persist in their knocking. Finally, he angrily opens the door. However, his anger quickly fades away when he sees the two little girls in the costumes made by the loving hand of their mother. Gradually, Mateo joins the family and begins to regain his sanity through them.
Sheridan brings a warm and vibrant visual energy to the film. The handheld camerawork (including the daughters video footage) paints an intimate portrait of the family. He contrasts this intimacy with the harsh world around them to great effect. In one scene the parents send the girls out for ice cream so they can have some time to themselves. Sheridan juxtaposes the parent’s lovemaking with the violent depressive rage of Mateo. The blend of two such different emotions —sweet love and violent rage—is strange and unique. It’s a nice contrast and a good example of the creative mind behind the scenes.
In America is a blend of returning to the playful nature of children, recovering from the loss of a family member, starting from scratch in an unforgiving town, becoming family with the most unlikely of characters. It’s a movie about returning to the things that matter in life, relationship with family and friends.
Review by Leah Sharpe.
Review by: Cinema Eye
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