In America (2003)

There are a number of credibility defying moments in this film, but as you watch, you begin to see them as real, or at least wish they were real. A lot of the spark and magic in the story is provided by real life sisters, Sarah and Emma Bolger, portraying the young daughters of Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah (Samantha Morton) Sullivan, newly arrived immigrants from Ireland via Canada. Though it's a modern day story, the picture's cinematography evokes a somewhat earlier era, perhaps a time when New York City might have been a tad safer and more welcoming, even though you might not get that perspective from the run down apartment building the Sullivans are forced to call home. There's a plaintive quality to the life of the Sullivan Family, as they live in the shadow of a young son's death at the age of two, both parents blaming themselves and each other for what was an unfortunate accident, and even more dismally, the specter of a brain tumor that would have taken it's eventual toll. The presence of their screaming-man neighbor Mateo (Djimon Hounsou) turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as the evolving friendship between him and the Sullivans, particularly the girls, reveals a humanity in people that often remains unseen until we take the trouble to get to know them. The story is loosely built around the idea of Christy's (Sarah Bolger) three wishes granted by her deceased brother Frankie. There's only one moment when I thought the script writers took things a little too far, and that was when Christy stated to her dad that she had been carrying the weight of the family around ever since Frankie died. She may have thought so in the deep recesses of her mind, and maybe even felt that way, but no child of her age would have been capable of expressing such a sentiment in words the way she did. But for me, that's a minor nit-pick, as the over all story is one of quiet reflection and inspiration, and not without an occasional tear to share with the Sullivan family.

'There's some things you should wish for and some you shouldn't. That's what my little brother Frankie told me. He told me I only had three wishes, and I looked into his eyes, and I don't know why I believed him.' This semi-autobiographical tale of Irish immigrants trying to survive in Hells Kitchen is ultimately frustrating, but has occasional moments of pure cinematic gold. Co-authored by the director, Jim Sheridan, and his two daughters, the screenplay constitutes a composite picture of their combined memories of when the director uprooted his family from Ireland in 1982, after controversy had hit a play he had staged. In addition, interwoven in this work is a tale of grief and mourning taken from a completely different period, and based on the director's father's earlier experiences of losing a child - the director's brother to whom the film is dedicated. The resulting product feels episodic, constructed from disparate scenes, largely from diarised entries from Sheridan's daughters, rather than fixed to a cohesive narrative thread. As such, the content veers from saccharine and sentimental moments of family unity to apparent irrational emotional outbursts devolved of any background for the audience. Sheridan's aim of trying to view the world with a kind of childlike quality works well at times, but the film displays an inconsistency of tone in scenes which are much starker. As instances of the former, there are three pivotal moments where the eldest daughter's belief that her deceased brother has granted her three wishes add poignant charm to the narrative. The first of these occurs at the outset as the family attempt to bluff their entry into the States as mere vacationers at the Canadian border. The next is the most enthralling scene where the father risks all the family savings at a carnival stall in order to save face in order to secure the soft toy his youngest daughter has set her heart on. Finally, there is the final scene, where the last remaining wish is movingly spent to help the father deal with the grief of losing his only son. Another of the film's strengths concerns the scenes narrated by the eldest daughter, presented by means of digital footage from her hand-held camera, thereby highlighting the artistry of cinematographer, Declan Quinn. Finally, there are the capable performances from the majority of the cast. As Sheridan maintains, casting represents 90% of film-making, and in this instance his claim appears well-served. Paddy Considine further establishes his acting credentials with an earnest and convincing portrayal of the father who struggles to safeguard his family once his beliefs have been shaken to the core, and his emotions held in check, by the tragic loss of his young son - this must have resonated with the actor who had lost his own father to cancer just a week before shooting started. The great find here though has to be the Bolger sisters. What is remarkable is that having cast the youngest, Emma, as Ariel, Sheridan was persuaded by the latter to audition, and subsequently cast as Christy, her elder sister waiting in a parked car outside. While her sibling's performance is charming and precocious, it is Sarah Bolger who delivers an amazingly mature performance beyond her years as the insightful chronicler of the family's triumphs and travails. One can never forget her beautiful rendition of the Eagles' 'Desperado', or how steely is her character's retort to her father: 'Don't 'little girl' me. I've been carrying this family on my back for a year.' Although Samantha Morton's performance merits admiration, an Oscar nomination appears exaggerated given the largely passive role she plays, as well as her character's inconsistencies - able to hold her husband responsible for her son's accidental death while comfortable herself to allow her daughters to 'trick or treat' in the apartment block they share with junkies and an apparently crazed neighbour who screams behind a permanently closed door. Even more surprising was the film's other acting nomination for Djimon Honsou's role as the neighbour, and HIV infected Haitian artist, who comes across as nothing more than a convenient narrative device. Despite the equally questionable Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay, the film does contain moments of sheer heart-warming or heart-rending emotional impact, none more so than the closing scene in which the family bid farewell to the dear departed, and which tests anyone's resolve to not shed a tear.

In America's legacy has made it become one of the most critically acclaimed films of the 2000s. Well-known film critic Richard Roeper called it the best of 2003, second best of the decade (only behind The Departed, which was actually a worthy #1), and a timeless work of art equal to Frank Capra. Really? Geez! It was great but certainly not THAT great! I do have some problems with believability and pointers that would have made the movie better. But nonetheless, what the movie has is a terrific immigration drama that everybody will cherish.The movie takes place in 1982 where a poor family moves to Hells Kitchen from Ireland in search of a better life. I guess that the Cold War drove them out and they chose New York for opportunity, but why not elsewhere in the state of New York or Canada? Oh well. The family is still mourning the death of their 5-year-old son Frankie, but the older of the children (played by the real life sisters) prays to Frankie for 3 wishes and will only use them up for special and much-needed times. They move to the ghetto part of Hells Kitchen where they must do all they can to make ends meet.There are some really great moments that will make you melt. The first happens when they go to a carnival and the dad plays a ball-throwing game to win a stuffed doll of ET. ET is a reoccurring motif since he is an alien and the movie is about aliens in America. The dad is willing to give up all their money for that doll. But it is not just about the doll, the scene has so much to offer. A few scenes are almost this strong, but the intention was to make the audience feel as proud as the characters. Director Jim Sheridan succeeds in doing that.Here is my criticism. The family just lost their youngest child, they're dirt-poor, and must adjust to living in a new land unfamiliar to them. I know that the family tries to keep it all together, but they seemed way to calm to hold so much grief in. I have experienced loss, so its not like I don't know what I'm talking about. Losing a loved one (especially children) and money problems are the two hugest factors that break a family apart. There are brief outbursts at the end, but that is where they should have subsided. We see the family struggling, but them getting by so easily wasn't anything huge.My next bit I found wrong was that there didn't seem to be much moments of true victories that could REALLY get the audience glowing. The dad winning the ET doll and a scene near the end are it in terms of true victories. Most of the times the family overcomes an obstacle just puts a little smile on the viewer's face, not a starstruck smile that "Rocky" or "It's a Wonderful Life" did. The reason the ET scene worked so well was because so much was on the line and we saw him failing and the stakes getting higher and higher. I know that a poor immigrant family holds all on the line, but them getting over it all just seemed too easy for me to get the same reaction from other people. So these two flaws effected the whole movie and prevented me from giving it a perfect score. I know that I just spent most of the time giving it flack, but the movie does have strong suits too. The parents are admirable and the girls are adorable. The girls are what really carry this movie. The whole point of this movie is love these characters and be proud of them. The movie focuses mainly on their ups and how they cope with things that most other families would be torn apart from. The girls believe in magic, and magic is a motif that is played about perfectly. And frankly, "magic" is the best word for this film.

It is not a very bad movie. But it does not make much sense either. Frankie fell down the stairs, or later on they say he climbed the gate. But that is not what he died from, he died from a brain tumor. So what is all the stair fuss about? And what is the meaning of all the loose scenes of stuff happening? There is no real story to speak of, except that of making an effort to get over the loss of a child. But even that is not depicted very well.Furthermore, no parent, especially one who has lost a child before, will let their child enter the house of a madman like Mateo appeared to be. They would not let their children go off by themselves to knock on the doors of junkies to go trick-or-treating.The man dying while the baby lives is pretty much a cliché. Anyone could have thought of that. The tear-drawing hopefulness and prayers, and the wishes the girl makes are touching but not very creative. The hospital bill suddenly having been paid by Mateo is also a disappointment - it just is too easy a solution.And how come the child and the mother both survived, even though the doctors had clearly said this would not happen? Another case of 'if you want it enough, it will happen'. That is disappointing. Real life is not like that. This made the movie into a feel-good-movie after all.All in all, the movie appears like a wanna-be-extra-special movie, which actually is not that special or creative. This style of movie is far from innovative anymore. The movie just ends up missing a good plot and looking quite like a standard movie.