In America
Finally saw this Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father) film. In America is the story of an Irish immigrant family struggling to come to terms with the death of a young son, hoping to find a new life in New York City's Hell's Kitchen. Riveting performances by Paddy Considine as Johnny (the father) and Samantha Morton as Sarah (the mother) make this a film that haunts as well as inspires.
I've been thinking about why I like this film so much. Could be because of the superb acting of the two of the cutest kids you'll ever seen on screen. Sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger play Christy and Ariel, both characters seamlessly real. Ariel's wide-eyed exuberance was especially charming, and the courage these girls displayed was simply shocking, both of them banging away at the door of a dying artist known simply as "the screaming man."
That artist could be another reason I like this film so much. Djimon Hounsou plays Mateo, functioning as a savior in this tale, bringing a kind of magic that borders on miraculous as he seems to lend his spirit to Sarah and Johnny's life, enlivening them even as his own life slips away.
A quiet, surprising film, full of fresh faces and new ways of saying there's hope of love and community--and redemption--in this crazy world.
4:12:46 PM
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