"In America"

[Mrs.Clayton]

Did anyone here see this movie?
It made an older man in the theatre cry
It's a sweet little movie, and it's not in too many theatres.
Speak up if you've seen it.

 

[JessicaAnn]

I saw it a couple of weeks ago. It's wonderful. I must admit, I too got a bit misty eyed.

 

[ABEL]

i've been wanting to see it. i don't think it's out here yet. i saw previews for it over the christmas holidays at the movies. it seems i can recall seeing a preview for it a while back, like last year. i guess they've taken their time getting it released. the movie theater where i saw the preview is one of the artsy type theaters, and it was the only preview that i saw that looked any good.

 

[BAW]

Its a really good movie...the little girls are absolutely adorable without being overly cutesy and I thought Samantha Morton was great. And yes, I will admit to tearing up several times as did the people sitting near me in the theater

 

[dsmith2904]

That movie was fantastic and the little girls were so amazing, they pretty much carried the film. I'm telling everyone I know to see it.

 

[oliveu2cm]

Its a really good movie...the little girls are absolutely adorable without being overly cutesy and I thought Samantha Morton was great. And yes, I will admit to tearing up several times as did the people sitting near me in the theater

Yes, exactly!!


My newspaper, however, listed the time of the showing wrong and I missed the first 10-15 minutes of the show! I'd love to hear how Frankie gave Christy the wishes (we came in on the part where the girls were in their NY shower).

 

[joyfulgirl]

I saw it Friday night. I didn't tear up but it is a very sweet film with some beautiful acting, and apparently it's based on Jim Sheridan's real-life experiences. Also there's a great soundtrack courtesy of Gavin Friday. Samantha Morton is wonderful as are the two children. I could see where some people might find it too cute but I fell for it all and found it to be a refreshing change. I could also relate to being in NYC during that time period (the 80s) and climbing up endless stairs in a dump during a heatwave.

Two things about the film bugged me --one, a character who was initially portrayed as the "scary black man downstairs" and, two, I wasn't convinced that a struggling family of Irish immigrants would really let their young girls run so carefreely in a neighborhood of junkies because I have lived in neighborhoods like that and you do have to be street smart and careful, but that's just nitpicking.

 

[martha]

I didn't like it all that much. I thought the screenplay was too fairy tale and romantic, and I couldn't take much more of Samantha's tears and melodrama. The little girls were stunning though, especially the older one.

 

[Mr. BAW]

All was good except for the idiot to my right (not BAW) who was snoring like a freight train until I woke him up!!

 

[oliveu2cm]

Two things about the film bugged me --one, a character who was initially portrayed as the "scary black man downstairs" and, two, I wasn't convinced that a struggling family of Irish immigrants would really let their young girls run so carefreely in a neighborhood of junkies because I have lived in neighborhoods like that and you do have to be street smart and careful, but that's just nitpicking.

Good points! Again, I missed the 1st 15 minutes so I wasn't sure if they had established Mateau's (sp?) character differently. Yeah that sat funny with me, too. And I certainly was confused why they'd let their girls run around the neighborhood unsupervised.

 

[BAW]

Good point joyfulgirl...

I was a little perplexed when the girls were sent out alone to the ice cream parlor so mom and dad could um...be alone. The whole premise of the story was the family dealing with the loss of their son...why would they be so careless with their girls? And I don't think anyone would let girls that age trick or treat alone, no matter where you live.

 

[BVS]

Two things about the film bugged me --one, a character who was initially portrayed as the "scary black man downstairs" and, two, I wasn't convinced that a struggling family of Irish immigrants would really let their young girls run so carefreely in a neighborhood of junkies because I have lived in neighborhoods like that and you do have to be street smart and careful, but that's just nitpicking.

I took that as to show how sorta innocent and naive the family was.

I loved the movie. My ex-wife is an immigrant from Ireland and it reminded me a lot of her family's stories as what they went through when they came over to the states. My ex and her sister were close to the same age as the girls in the movie even.

There was a sort of naiveness when they came over as well. Her father used to tell me they let the girls do things here that they could in Ireland and not even think much about it until a little later.

Overall I thought it was a great movie. By the way Abel it's playing the Magnolia in Dallas right now.

 

[~fairy_girl~]

i seen this, i LOVED it. its coming out on dvd here on march 15th i cant wait am obsesed with this film i just got the screenplay of it and a picture book its great, i cant wait to see it again, it was only on in the BIG cinemas here, in the city so i didnt get to go see it again...

there was another topic about this a while back that i swear i posted in

 

[joyfulgirl]

I took that as to show how sorta innocent and naive the family was.

That's a good point...but they didn't seem naive in other ways. The way the dad negotiated the city seemed pretty savvy. Also, whenever friends visited me in NYC from other countries they were always more cautious than I was because in their minds NYC was a scary place where everyone carried guns and knives.

But as martha pointed out, there was a sort've fairy tale quality about it so I overlooked these things as just being part of the fairy tale, of how the past can be romanticized (given that Sheridan wrote it with his two daughters based on their life). It worked for me overall.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

I saw it and thought it was all quite lovely--the acting, the story, the cast.

I did think the family portrayed that innocent, naive type fashion--even through Samantha's character, who wouldn't give up the baby despite the risks...its as if the entire family just sassumed to ill could come to them.

 

[Kariann]

I saw the movie a couple of weeks and really liked it. I found myself becoming a little teary at moments.

But as martha pointed out, there was a sort've fairy tale quality about it so I overlooked these things as just being part of the fairy tale, of how the past can be romanticized (given that Sheridan wrote it with his two daughters based on their life). It worked for me overall.

This is pretty much how I looked at it. It did come to mind that it seem odd to me that someone would send their young girls out to roam the city streets but then I went back to the thought that it was a movie and things in them aren't always as they are or would be in real life. I thought the 2 girls were fabulous by the way.