In America (2002)

A family of Irish immigrants adjust to life on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen while also grieving the death of a child.

Director:

Jim Sheridan

Writers:

Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan

Stars:

Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 63 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paddy Considine	...	Johnny
Samantha Morton	...	Sarah
Sarah Bolger	...	Christy
Emma Bolger	...	Ariel
Neal Jones	...	Immigration Officer #1
Randall Carlton	...	Immigration Officer #2
Ciaran Cronin	...	Frankie
Djimon Hounsou	...	Mateo
Juan Carlos Hernández	...	Papo (as Juan Hernandez)
Nye Heron	...	Blind Man
Jason Salkey	...	Tony
Rene Millan	...	Steve
Sara James	...	Papo's Girlfriend
Bob Gallico	...	Theatre Director
Jason Killalee	...	Assistant Theatre Director

Storyline

Following the tragic death of their five-year-old son Frankie, Irish couple Johnny and Sarah Sullivan and their remaining two offspring, 10 year old Christy Sullivan and 5 year old Ariel Sullivan, emigrate illegally to the United States via Canada with little in their pockets. Their final destination is Manhattan where Johnny hopes to work as a stage actor. They move into a unit in a run town tenement housed primarily with drug addicts, transvestites and one tenant coined "the man who screams". They do whatever they can to eke out a supportive family environment in this difficult situation, the support which ultimately extends to those around them, most specifically "the screamer" who turns out to be an African-American artist named Mateo with AIDS. But the memory of Frankie hangs over the family in good and bad ways, especially as Sarah learns she's pregnant. Christy, who records their life's goings-on with her beloved camcorder, believes that the angel of Frankie has granted her ...

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Plot Keywords:

irish immigrant | new york | lemon drop | sex | f rated | 

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Taglines:

One family's coming of age story.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, drug references, brief violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Samantha Morton, who plays Sarah, was 25 years old when the movie was filmed. She is only 14 years older than Sarah Bolger, who plays eldest daughter, Christy, in the film.

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Goofs

When Christy is helping Johnny learn his lines at the café (after visiting Sarah in the hospital), Ariel's two front teeth are adult teeth. In the next scene, when Ariel and Christy are in bed, they are back to being baby teeth.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Christy: [voiceover] There's some things you should wish for and some things you shouldn't. That's what my little brother Frankie told me. He told me I only had three wishes, and I looked into his eyes, and I don't know why I believed him.

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Connections

Referenced in Well Wishes (2015)

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Soundtracks

Cherry Coke & Pizza Pie
(1999)
Performed by The Mutts
Written by Håkan Åkesson
Courtesy of Lovecat Records
Published by Big Tiger Music (BMI)
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Just A Nice Story About Irish Immigrants

This was simply a nice human-interest story with some mumbo-jumbo voodoo stuff thrown in because filmmakers like that sort of thing.

Basically, it's about a nice Irish family which immigrates to the United States and resides in New York. These are poor people, but not the destitute situation of, let's say, the McCourt family from "Angela's Ashes."

What stood out to me were the nice, cute little girls in this family, played by real- life sisters, Emma and Sarah Bolger. They were the kind of sweet kids you wish you'd see more of in modern films. Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton played the parents, "Johnny and Sarah" nicely and Djimon Hounson played the nice neighbor with the strange powers.

Overall, it's a pleasant, positive feel-good film.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Ireland UK USA

Language:

English Spanish Irish

Release Date:

6 February 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

In America

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$205,229, 30 November 2003

Gross USA:

$15,539,656

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,382,911

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hell's Kitchen Films, East of Harlem (UK) Ltd., Irish Film Industry

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1