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Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan, who chooses his projects carefully and develops them painstakingly, has outdone himself with this intensely personal, semi-autobiographical account of illegal Irish immigrants struggling to make their way in Reagan-era New York. Johnny (Paddy Considine), determined to make it as an actor, immigrates along with his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton), and daughters, Christy and Ariel (real-life siblings Sarah and Emma Bolger). The family is also emotionally on the run from memories of a son who died before the journey. Settling into a large but shabby tenement in the city’s run-down Hell’s Kitchen area, the individual family members absorb Gotham and are in turn absorbed by it. The evolving relationship between the mild-mannered family and the tenant below them -- a shrieking, shirtless, apparently mad artist named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou) -- underscores the central metaphor of assimilation. At times In America seems leisurely paced and lacking in narrative drive, but it compensates with cleverly observed vignettes that illuminate the challenges faced by any poor family trying to make a better life in a strange land. Time and again, Sheridan's situations ring true. Johnny tries to provide comfort to his family during a sweltering summer by buying an air conditioner that winds up knocking out the building’s power. His attempt to win a prize for one daughter at a street-fair concession becomes an exercise in desperation and just makes him look foolish. While Morton and Hounsou are both wonderful here -- and were recognized as such with Oscar nominations -- Considine’s work is no less splendid. His Johnny is a decent and quietly desperate man, adrift in an ambivalent cloud of grief. Despite that, In America is not a depressing film; it's actually a warmhearted reminder that strength of character is often nourished by adversity. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

After chronicling various chapters of Irish history in such films as In the Name of the Father and The Field, writer/director Jim Sheridan turns his lens upon his own family's experiences immigrating to the United States in the aptly titled In America. The loosely autobiographical script centers on Johnny (Paddy Considine), a young actor sneaking his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton), and daughters, Christy and Ariel (real-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger, respectively), over the Canadian border in the hopes of jump-starting his career in New York City. They soon find that America is not the land of boundless opportunity, however, as they move into a dank, dilapidated apartment building populated by drug dealers, transients, and thugs. Johnny doesn't snag auditions as easily as he may have hoped, and he and Sarah are forced to take meager jobs after spending their savings on food, rent, and utilities. Still in grief over the untimely death of their toddler son back in Ireland, the couple find their relationship further strained by the pressures of life in the city. Little by little, however, things begin to look up for the fiercely protective family unit, especially when they befriend an eccentric artist neighbor named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou). In America saw its world premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and played to enthusiastic crowds at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival before its theatrical release in the fall of that year. Michael Hastings

Product Details

• UPC: 024543116714
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1), Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Pan & Scan, Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:45:00
• Sales Rank: 28,614

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• In America / Bend It like Beckham

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