Rating: 
Summary: A moving family story
Review: "In America," directed by Jim Sheridan, tells the story of a modern-day Irish family that moves to New York City, where the father hopes to pursue his acting career. Their lives become connected to that of Mateo (played by Djimon Hounsou), a troubled artist who lives in their apartment building.This is a beautiful film, superbly acted by a fine cast. In addition to Hounsou, the principal players are Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton as the Irish parents, and Sarah Bolger and Emma Bolger as daughters Christy and Ariel. The cast members have a powerful chemistry which really gives impact to the characters' interconnected relationships. "In America" is a story that's told with a gritty, sweaty urban realism, yet many scenes have a magical, almost fairy-tale like quality. Sheridan weaves allusions to the film "E.T." into this film as an effective motif that complements the characters and their emotional journeys. Also effective is the film's use of classic songs to heighten the emotion of the story. "In America" is an intriguing portrait of multiethnic urban life, and also offers a compelling look at life in a family that is struggling financially. Although there are moments of pain, there are also nice humorous touches and the film overall has a genuine sweetness that never seems fake. This story deals with enduring themes: family ties, friendship, and surviving tragedy. But most of all it's about hope and embracing life.
Rating:
Summary: A Moving and Touching Story
Review: In America is a very moving and touching story about an Irish family that moves to New York after their only son dies. The movie tells the story of how they struggle in their new home, while another baby is on the way.
Wonderful acting performances by everyone in the cast - especially the two young girls playing the daughters.
This movie makes you realize how difficult it must be to move to a new country to start a new life with two small children.
Rating: 
Summary: Good sentiments exploited here
Review: [Based on theatrical release.] The one good point about this Irish-American production is the child acting, herewith recognized with a one-star rating. Otherwise, In America is an insulting tearjerker. A treacly central story is wrapped in hard-streets-tough Manhattan realism, though the wrapping, when looked at in detail, is just as make-believe as the central baklava. If you're bored sitting through this, you might try counting the physical impossibilities in one small slice of hard-streets wrapping, the air-conditioner sequence. This will prepare you for the equally impossible trio of Gripping Medical Events (tm) at the core of the central baklava. Otherwise, the only relation between wrapping and treacle occurs through a series of magical inversions. Weight-Watcher advisory: The baklava fully conforms to the view of human reproduction promoted by the Vatican and by the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Prediction: Sheridan will soon direct an NRA vehicle with a Patriot using lots of firepower to wield Individual Initiative in the magically-successful Defense of his Family. Oops, already been done.
Rating: 
Summary: DAZZLING SCREENPLAY, BUT IN THE END A LACKLUSTRE TEAR-JERKER
Review: The Sheridiens are impressive script writers, their sketch of an Irish couple living through the pitfalls and triumphs of a family is very well done. To complement that perfectly, the acting and direction do complete justice to the perhaps deliberately soft theme. If the intent of this movie was to create a pointless tale of a couple of ordinary folk with two very nice and mature children, they succeeded admirably. But it is a bit difficult to want to squander two hours of one's time watching dull depressing lives of people who create their own problems and can't overcome a tragedy. What underscores the mediocrity of the film is that Sheridien never seemed to have made up his mind about whether he wanted to make a Ken Loach film set in New York, showing nakedly the circadean roughness of urbanscapes and the crushing of the American Dream, or a Steven Spielberg film complete with children, magic, the power of a family to stay united and general happiness and good will. Having a foot on each shore, in falls flat in the middle. Recommended rental for a slow evening but I'd think twice before singing paeans to it.
Rating:
Summary: See this film at least once in your lifetime!
Review: In America is an absolute treat. It can be hard to watch in many parts, but a film as good as this balances it extremely well. The director and film makers are well deserving of their awards at the Sundance FIlm Festival and other festivals. You get taken on a terrific emotional ride as seen through the eyes of Christie, the daughter of Irish imigrants moving to America illegaly. The settings are not stereotypical to say the least. Real human feeling is woven throughout the story in all the trials the family endures. In America is well worth adding to your collection. Don't let anyone tell you it's too "sticky-sweet". The type of person who makes this accusation is probably just upset there's no explosions or special effects that Hollywood has become reliant on to make a buck. See this movie. You won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost But Not Quite
Review: This film focuses on Sarah and Johnny Sullivan as they relocate with their two daughters from Ireland through Canada to New York City's Hell's Kitchen. Once in residence in a squalid tenement, they begin a new life together with high hopes and great expectations, although haunted by the death of a toddler. That loss presumably motivated Sarah (Samantha Morton) and Johnny (Paddy Considine) to make a fresh start in a strange city where so many other immigrant families have also done so for more than a century. Johnny is an aspiring actor whose ambitions are endured by his generally sullen wife. It soon becomes obvious that Sarah and (especially) Johnny are ill-prepared for the responsibilities of parenthood. Violent crime as well as alcohol and drug abuse surround the Sullivans where they live and yet the two daughters are often allowed to roam around unsupervised. Over time, the Sullivans become friends with Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), a neighbor in the tenement who eventually provides unexpected assistance when it is needed most. (The nature of that assistance is best revealed in the film.) Frankly, I still do not know what to make of the relationship between Mateo and the Sullivans. The friendship they share was more a distraction than a revelation as I struggled to understand Sheridan's purposes. Unlike Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, Mateo seems a contrivance. Having seen four films which Sheridan previously directed -- My Left Foot (1989), The Field (1990), In the Name of the Father (1993), and The Boxer (1997) -- I admire so much what he has contributed to our understanding of the courage and determination which many of his characters somehow summon in response to severe hardship. They evince an integrity lacking in the adult characters in this film, with the possible exception of Mateo. As indicated, there are several reasons for my disappointment in In America. Nonetheless, the performances by Hounsou and the Bolger sisters almost -- not quite -- elevate this film above the inadequacies of its narrative (i.e. gritty realities awkwardly juxtaposed with fantasy) as well as the disturbing questions raised about the Sullivans as parents.
Rating:
Summary: Great and highly emotional.
Review: In America is such a great and moving movie that cried several times during the show. Samantha Morton and Paddy Considine give great performances as well as the little girls who play their daughters. _ Djimon Hounsou though is the scene-stealer in this film, and he deserves the Oscar nomination he got for his role. If you are looking for a movie that will blow you away emotionally, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: The proof that movies are art!
Review: This is as close to perfect as a movie can get. A realistic look into a family, complete with all the struggles and the moments that make the struggles worth the effort. I saw it in a freezing theatre and the film broke twice- and even with those distractions I found the film mesmerizing.
Wow! I live in a fairly large city that struggles to show small films. Why do we have to be subjected to multiple screens of garbage that lasts only a week or two as word of mouth gets out? Come on theatre owners - give us a chance to prove we will spend our money on the good stuff.
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Years Best!
Review: Beautiful, compelling and poetic. The Bolger sisters and Samantha Morton shine in one of the best films of this year. Djimon Honsou's awesome performance in the role of "Mateo" deserves the oscar for best supporting actor. The only real flaw with the film is that there are a few scenes of oversentimentality that don't entirely work (i.e. the early scenes involving E.T. although they do somewhat payoff in the end of the film) and some of Paddy Considine's acting is suspect in certain scenes at the beginning. Also what's with the girl's having that digital video camera when this is supposed to take place in the early eighties I believe (i.e. E.T. showing and dolls conveniently being found at the amusement park/area)? But overall this is a film full of memorable scenes, great music and cinemtography and one of the very best endings I have ever seen. The power of the ending alone gets this one a five star rating. Look beyond its flaws if you can. There are many rewards in giving this film a chance. It should have been nominated for Best Picture instead of Lost In Translation.
Rating:
Summary: In America
Review: Yeah, its getting a lot of good buzz right now, but when I walked out of "In America" I felt gipped, quietly thinking to myself, "I should've gone to see 'Mystic River'".
Thats not to say that "In America" is a bad movie, because its not. Its merely a pretty good one.
The good things are the three performances by the two girls who are excellent, and (this is going to be misselled and I apoligize) Djimon Honsuea as the mysterious neighbor down the hall. Whenever thses three are on screen, the movie lightens up a bit and actually seems to be enjoying itself.
But both the parent charactors, Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton, are both unrealistic and in my book, unsympathetic. Mroton is usually good, but this time around she looks bored. These are two central charactors that are important to the story are so unrealstic that I couldn't muster much sympathy for them.
Many people will love this movie, and thats fine. It is better than, say, "The Matrix Reloaded". But if you want a movie that actually engrosses you, well, "21 Grams" is still playing, isn't it?
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