From master storyteller Jim Sheridan (“My Left Food”, “In The Name of the Father”) comes a deeply personal and emotionally raw tale of a family finding its soul In America. Through the wide-open eyes of two young heroines, Sheridan transforms a devastating human tragedy into a riveting, humor-tinged story about memory, secrets, love, loss, coming together and starting over.
To begin all over again is a classic American dream. But it’s remarkably hard to do, as Irish emigres Johnny and Sarah (Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton) discover when they hit the streets of modern-day Manhattan, their two spunky young daughters in tow, and emerge into a realm as comical and adventure-filled as it is strange and terrifying. The family faces a dizzying new future- but first they must face down a past that haunts every single one of them.
With no cash to spare, Johnny and Sarah settle into a chaotic New York tenement populated by junkies, drag queens and a colorful assortment of characters, and attempt to turn a Gothic horror-movie setting into a true home. From dragging an iffy-looking air conditioner across Manhattan to finding make-do jobs, nothing comes without a fight for the couple. And yet, while they see America as rife with challenges, dangers and weirdness, their daughters see it as a magical place where everything can happen, a place that might release them all from the anguish of what has come before.
Then, on Halloween, Christy and Ariel (sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger) dare to knock on the door of “the screaming man,” a mysterious neighbor named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), and everything changes. As the family heads for a crisis, Mateo becomes their unlikely ally in the territory where hope, faith and even magic hold sway.
In America
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Djimon Hounsou, Emma Bolger, Sarah Bolger, Juan Hernandez, Nye Heron
Screenplay by: Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan
Maurice Seezer
Cinematography by: Declan Quinn
Film Editing by: Naomi Geraghty
Music by: Gavin Friday
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexuality, drug references, brief violence, language.
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: November 26, 2003