FILM REVIEW
"In America"
(20th Century Fox)

Entertainment
Art

By ALEX MECHLIN

In America concerns an Irish family who is immigrating to the United States after the death of a son. Starting with the family’s encounter with border guards at the U.S.-Canada border, every task faces obstacles. Forced to take marginal jobs and a run down apartment, the family is still able to slowly set down roots in its new home. As more dramatic events begin to take place, the deep reservoirs of guilt and frustration emerge. The new struggle becomes keeping the family together.

The family reveals itself from the point of view of the daughters slowly, step by step. But to children there is always mystery and beauty in the real world, and director Jim Sheridan captures that magically. He (along with his real-life daughters) directed and wrote the film while integrating his own experiences of living in New York. The story is personal in the best way. It doesn't tell the story exactly as it happened, because it doesn't have to. Instead, it finds the truth in the characters and emotions, without being an autobiography.

Sheridan uses handheld cameras and one characters camcorder to add to the reality of the piece. Moments seem caught instead of staged. Sheridan has said in interviews that he tried to get true emotion from the actors more than worrying about camera placement.

Sheridan goes dangerously close to going over the cliff into manipulative sentiment. A few of the montages are accompanied by famous songs, including Desperado and Turn, Turn, Turn. They seemed a little manipulative, but it was quickly forgotten about when the next scene played.

Instead of the plot, the film is structured more towards the characters. The father has the biggest transformation to go through. He alternately blames himself and his wife for the death of their son Frankie, and it will take more than just his family to get him to come out of his shell. This is where Djimon Hounsou character comes in, and it is a great performance befitting a great character.

Hounsou has gotten to show his noble side before, in movies such as "Amistad" and "Gladiator." But this is the first role where he plays off his nobility – it’s there, but so are many other emotions such as rage and depression. He tells everything with his eyes, and his transformation from a person who has given up to a man with so much love is heartbreaking.

Samantha Morton is a life-force as the mother, showing the sacrifices and desires on her face. She has recovered from Frankie’s death and tries to get her husband to do the same. Paddy Considine carries the weight of a dead man, but also wears the mask of the father his character once was. In one pivotal scene with Hounsou, both the actors get at the heart of their characters and reveal truths that are a highpoint of the film.

The Bolger sisters (who play the daughters) are endearing without being precious; and the differences between them is stunning. The older sister is more burdened with the knowledge of the family’s problems and is the most dependable member of the family. The younger sister is more excitable and charming, but never becomes an annoyance. Characteristics such as strength, enthusiasm, and curiosity seem to have been passed down from the parents, and show themselves in a more pure form.

In America is powerful because it doesn’t try for an overreaching metaphor about the immigrant experience. Instead, it probes deeply into one family’s struggle, giving it far more resonance then any statistics about immigration could ever do.