Susan Granger’s review of “In America” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
The Irish are renown as storytellers – and as writer/director Jim Sheridan (“My Left Foot,” “In the Name of the Father”) mixes humor with pathos, he once again proves why. Reaching back into his own memory bank, he evokes New York City through an immigrant’s eyes. His reminiscence begins as optimistic Irish ŽmigrŽs (Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton) drive into the United States from Canada with their two precocious daughters (Sarah Bolger – who serves as the narrator – and Emma Bolger, her younger sister), pretending to be on holiday. A third child, a son, is listed on their travel papers but he’s died, and they all tote the pain of that tragedy with them as heavy emotional baggage. Through the girls’ eyes, Manhattan is magical; even the mean streets hold undeniable charms. Soon, a grimy tenement in the dilapidated urban area known as Hell’s Kitchen – with its ‘resident’ junkie out-front – becomes their new home. And the huge, once-terrifying ‘screaming man’ (Djimon Hounsou) downstairs is no longer a stranger. As writing collaborators, Jim Sheridan has recruited his two daughters, Naomi and Kirsten, who actually ‘lived’ this episodic, semi-autobiographical story, and their authenticity is not only palpable but deeply moving, brought to life by astonishing naturalistic acting performances, particularly from the young Bolger sisters. Cinematographer Declan Quinn repeatedly contrasts the awe-inspiring Manhattan skyline with the brutal reality of persevering within a penniless day-to-day existence, including taking menial jobs en route to achieving the American Dream. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “In America” is an astonishingly rich and revelatory 8, a poignant, heart-warming, timeless tale of faith and hope.
