Seven years after 'The Boxer' was released to mediocre reviews, Jim Sheridan returns with a deeply sentimental, very emotional but affecting semi-autobiographical drama. Set in a quasi mystic New York, 'In America' follows the fortunes of an Irish illegal emigrant family who come to the United States to escape their past in Ireland. The parents, Johnny (Considine) Sarah (Morton) are finding it difficult to cope with the reality of the death of their only son, while their two daughters (real life sisters, Emma and Sarah Bolger) are wide eyed innocents, especially in the playground of Hell's Kitchen. It's there that the family move into a dilapidated apartment complex, populated by drug dealers, drag queens and an artist (Hounsou) with a fearsome reputation.
A filmmaker who sometimes allows his heart to rule his head, Sheridan's interest in evoking a mood dominated by spirituality is not a misplaced one, even if the devices he uses occasionally feel a teensy bit manipulative. The director's signposts are a little bit obvious - New York is depicted as being somewhere where heaven and hell can exist in close proximity and rammed home at every opportunity - but the real power of the film lies with the performances that he elicits from his cast. Having always been something of an actor's director (exhibit A, your honour: Daniel Day Lewis), Sheridan's coaxes powerful, emotional work out of his uniformly excellent players. Cloaking the proceedings in an aura of magical realism, the director may not be shy about playing the emotional card, but he does it so well that it's difficult not to get caught up with 'In America'.
