IN AMERICA

'''In America''' is a 2002 film directed by Jim Sheridan, and co-written by Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kirsten. The character of Frankie, the deceased brother, was based on Jim Sheridan's real-life late brother, also named Frankie. The movie stars Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton, Sarah Bolger, Emma Bolger, and Djimon Hounsou.

Contents

Plot

Oscar Nominations

Other awards

Won

Nominated

External links

Plot

In the film, an Irish couple immigrate to the United States with their two young girls, Ariel and Christie, to start a new life in another country following the death of the girls' brother, Frankie, back in Ireland. An early voice-over sets the film in the early 1980s, but later casual references are inconsistent and the film often looks decidedly more contemporary (for instance, when Johnny is dragging an air conditioning unit across the street, a year 2000 Mustang can be seen weaving through traffic). The film is narrated by Christie, the elder of the two young girls, though it focuses on the whole family's trials and tribulations and in parts is given something of a fairy tale spin derived from the girls' perspective.
The family are short on money and move into a rundown apartment building in Hell's Kitchen, known locally as the "junkies' building." Despite their impoverishment, their initial joy of being in America and the closeness of the family gives them the energy to make the most of what they have. The mother, Sarah, gets a job in Heaven, a local ice-cream parlor, to support the family while Johnny, the girls' father, struggles to get work as an actor.
However, both Johnny and Sarah are unable to get over the sorrow, and guilt, of the still-recent death of Frankie. Following the accident, the once-Catholic Johnny renounced God and lost any ability to feel true emotions, which changed his relationship with his family. As money runs low and New York's temperatures soar, the family discovers that Sarah is pregnant with a child whose birth could be fatal for her. Tensions between Johnny and Sarah begin to arise.
At the same time, we are introduced to Mateo, a resident of the building and previously known to the girls' as 'the man who screams', a faceless voice behind an apartment door marked "Keep Away". The family - first the girls and then the parents - befriend Mateo, though Johnny is reticent at first as Mateo gives him the "heebie jeebies". Johnny's relationship to Mateo changes, however, following a dispute in which he learns that Mateo is dying of AIDS.
Mateo is an artist, and is shown to have a somehow spiritual bond to the family; his frenzied rage and blood-letting on a tempestous New York evening coincides with the conception of the family's new child. At one stage in his illness, he falls down a flight of stairs, and is knocked unconscious. Christie believes that he requires CPR, and attempts to administer the procedure herself. Before the transfusion the girls fret that she might have the same disease, but decide, conclusively, in their fairytale manner, that she cannot. However, something of the link between Mateo's blood and the new baby remains. Mateo's deterioration dovetails with the growth of Sarah and Johnny's child. The baby is born premature and unwell as Mateo heads towards his end, and the paths cross over in finality when the premature death of Mateo coincides with the first healthy movements of the new baby, following a blood transfusion from Christie. With the birth of the new baby and the death of Mateo, Johnny is finally able to overcome his lack of emotion and refusal of God and put his grieving for Frankie to rest.
Spiritual topics play a part in the film, with both the rebirth of Mateo as a new member of the family and the ideas of a life after death touched upon. Johnny's refusal of God after his child's death relate a common anger against God's "mysterious ways".

Oscar Nominations

The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Djimon Hounsou), Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Samantha Morton) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan and Kirsten Sheridan).

Other awards

Won

★ Black Reel Awards:

★
★ Best Supporting Actor (Djimon Hounsou)

★ Broadcast Film Critics:

★
★ Best Writer (Jim, Kirsten and Naomi Sheridan)

★ Independent Spirit Awards:

★
★ Best Cinematography (Declan Quinn)

★
★ Best Supporting Male (Djimon Hounsou)

★ National Board of Review:

★
★ Best Screenplay - Original (Jim, Kirsten and Naomi Sheridan)

★ San Diego Film Critics:

★
★ Best Supporting Actor (Djimon Hounsou)

★ Satellite Awards:

★
★ Best Director (Jim Sheridan)

★
★ 'Best Picture - Drama'

★
★ Best Supporting Actor - Drama (Djimon Hounsou)

★ Young Artist Awards:

★
★ Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress Age Ten or Younger (Emma Bolger)

Nominated

★ British Independent Film Awards:

★
★ Best Actor (Paddy Considine)

★
★ Best Actress (Samantha Morton)

★
★ Best Director (Jim Sheridan)

★ Broadcast Film Critics:

★
★ Best Actress (Samantha Morton)

★
★ Best Director (Jim Sheridan)

★
★ Best Picture

★
★ Best Song ("Time Enough for Tears")

★
★ Best Young Actor/Actress (Emma Bolger)

★
★ Best Young Actor/Actress (Sarah Bolger)

★ 'Golden Globe Awards:

★
★ Best Original Song - "Time Enough For Tears"

★
★ Best Screenplay (Jim, Kirsten and Naomi Sheridan)

★ Golden Trailer Awards:

★
★ Best Drama

★ Image Awards:

★
★ Best Supporting Actor (Djimon Hounsou)

★ Independent Spirit Awards:

★
★ Best Actress (Samantha Morton)

★
★ Best Director (Jim Sheridan)

★
★ Best Feature

★
★ Best Supporting Actress (Sarah Bolger)

★ Online Film Critics:

★
★ Best Screenplay - Original (Jim, Kirsten and Naomi Sheridan)

★ Screen Actors Guild (SAG):

★
★ Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

★ Writers Guild of America (WAG):

★
★ Best Original Screenplay (Jim, Kirsten and Naomi Sheridan)

External links

★ Official site

★

★ ''In America'' at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list

★

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