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Quickie Review - In America

In America is a tale of an Irish families journey to New York City in hopes of a better life.  The story is apparently somewhat of an autobiographical tale, written by Jim Sheridan.  Sheridan's name might not ring any bells, but he's the writer and director of many of Daniel Day Lewis' better roles, such as My Left Foot, The Boxer and In the Name of the Father.  He also wrote one of my favorites, Some Mother's Son, which chronicles the Bobby Sands hunger strike.

The film stars Paddy Considine and the lovely Samantha Morton in the roles of the parents.  They are looking to start anew and we quickly learn they are not only seeking a better life for they and their children, but they are running away from the death of their son, that haunts them, especially the father.  The parents want everything for their children, at almost any cost, even their own lives and happiness. There is a scene, early on, that is almost physically painful to watch, because of the stress that you feel.  Obviously, you need to see it to understand.  Joining them are their two daughters, real life sisters Emma and Sarah Bolger.  Emma plays Ariel, the youngest whose naivety allows some of the other characters to grow, whether they want to or not.  Sarah plays Christy, the unheralded star of the movie.  The one who truly teaches everyone around her about life and acceptance.  And then there is Mateo.  Mateo is played by Amistad's star, Djimon Hounsou.  We first think that he is crazy, but because of the girl's persistence on Halloween night, we learn something very different.  The five characters and the movie take off at this point and if you've been patient enough to get to know these characters, you'll be happy you did.

The movie's final 20-30 minutes are absolutely brilliant, with so much coming together and falling apart, you will, assuming their is a heart in your chest, sobbing from both sadness and happiness.  The movies final three to four minutes really hit home for me on a personal level and maybe because of this, I felt more of a connection than most.  That being said, It's a perfectly written, extremely well acted movie where you really see how a simple story can become magical when their is so much chemistry between the players.  Sheridan's choice to make the children the "heroes" was bold, but paid off handsomely in the end.

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