In America
Review by George Singleton for Reel Movie Critic
HHH½
Cast
Samantha Morton	Sarah
Paddy Considine	Johnny
Sarah Bolger	Christy
Emma Bolger	Ariel
Directed by Jim Sheridan. Family, Immigration. Rated PG-13 (for some sexuality, drug references, brief violence and language). Running time: 103 minutes.

Writer and director Jim Sheridan ("My Left Foot," "In the Name of the Father") shares a bit of himself with us in his new film, "In America," a story inspired by his own family. About an Irish immigrant couple with two young daughters, struggling through life in the tough Hell's Kitchen area of New York City, the family mourns the recent loss of their son Frankie, in Ireland. The husband, Johnny (Paddy Considine), no longer has the emotional depth or the strength to portray feeling in his acting roles.

Johnny's wife Sarah (Samantha Morton) can't get a position as a teacher so she works for minimum pay at an ice cream parlor. A fellow employee becomes a friend, and from time to time she watches the girls, Christy and Ariel (Sara and Emma Bolger). The babysitter allows time for some erotic scenes between Johnny and Sarah that reminds us that lovemaking can at times have as its greatest value, the ability to focus on something other than your problems and to escape from the pressures of life.

You think this is a tale about unsophisticated immigrants adjusting to life in America. It's much more than that because of its use of symbolism, mysticism and fantasy. These techniques are used to tell a powerfully emotional story about dealing with loss. That notion slowly unfolds. One of the greatest harbinger's of that change is Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), an eccentric African neighbor the girls meet on "trick or treat" rounds in their building, and they charm him into becoming their new best friend. The girls save his life when he has a seizure, and he is able to return the favor in a way that will be your pleasure to see in the movie.

"In America" hooks you emotionally when you are not expecting it, for all of a sudden you know and care about each character. If you live long enough, you will lose someone close to you, sooner than you expect or are ready for. You will appreciate how one needs to adjust, and can learn to manage unimaginable pain. Whose fault was it that the young boy was killed in a fall down the stairs? Was it because the gate was not up or was there some other reason that is no one's fault?

When the immigration story becomes secondary to that of the family, one appreciates the role of Hounsou and the strained relationship between Sarah and Johnny. We learn a lot about the family when they go to a carnival they cannot afford and all agree to literally bet the ranch, the rent money, to double their winnings. They have faith in one another.

Using the word brilliant regarding the acting by Sarah and Emma Bolger is not an overstatement. These youngsters had the emotional impact of the girls in last year's "Rabbit Proof Fence." They began to draw you into the story early on even though you might not realize it.

Depiction of the underbelly of life in Hell's kitchen was sugarcoated but the environment provides the surreal images needed to get inside the minds and souls of this family. The best movies tend to show you things from a new perspective or make you feel something you've not experienced before. "In America" takes you to a place you just realized you were but did not recognize.