The other night we went to see In America. I can’t get over the fact that it wasn’t nominated for best picture. Of all the movies I saw from last year’s excellent crop, this movie moved me the most. The acting is superb, in fact I was flabbergasted by the little girl who played Christie. There is an amazing scene where she is singing the song Desperado, and I swear it was the first time ever that I bothered to listen to the words. No special effects, no slick editing, just human emotion. I don’t think that either of the actors nominated for Oscar will win, but their nominations are well earned.
Sorry if this was discussed in a previous thread, I searched for it but nothing came up. Anyway, go see the movie if you have the chance. IMHO, a subtle yet powerful masterpiece.
I made a thread about it about a month ago when I first saw it, and noone responded. I’m glad someone else finally got around to seeing it as well, because I feel the same way you do about this film…it was absolutely amazing and really deserved a hell of a lot more credit then it got. Stories about father’s always get to me, and this was definitely one of those gut wrenchers. Glad I saw it by myself, because it allowed me to let that tear slip at the end. Brilliant acting, wonderful story, and just overall brilliant. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a good drama like this little slice of life, and it really deserves more credit. If anyone reading this hasn’t seen it, go and watch it this weekend.
Most gut wrenching scene for me:
[SPOILER]They’ve just won the ball toss, had this great family outing, and the father’s playing Fee-Fi-Fo with the children. First two times, he’s looking for an Irish woman. Third time, he screams “I’m looking for an Irish man!” and just collapses to the floor.
“I was looking for him…I was looking for Frankie.”
Holy shit, can anything tug on the heartstrings more than that?[/spoiler]
I personally don’t get how people are all over *Lost in Translation * and not this film.
I like LiT. I did.
But *In America * is a far far better film. The oldest daughter and the father deserved acting noms. The film deserves a best picture nomination. And the film desreves much better box office.
The family is so Irish that it is a tough film to watch. By that I mean the actors very accurately portray real Irish people rather then the usual characatures you see on the screen. As someone who was born and raised in Dublin I really related to this movie. Excellent, excellent film.
Excellent film. Sentimental (in a good way) without being cloying or manipulative. FWIW, it’s my wife’s pick as best film of the 21st century (so far).
I remember seeing the trailer for In America and then waiting and waiting for it to be released. Well worth the wait!
In America 2004 Nominated Oscars:
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Djimon Hounsou
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Samantha Morton
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Jim Sheridan
Naomi Sheridan
Kirsten Sheridan
Good performances all around, especially the daughters, who give some of the best child performances in recent years.
But the movie suffers when it stoops to one of the most annoying Hollywood cliches: the magic black man. Life getting you down? Lost your joie de vivre? Unable to cope with everyday misery? Get a magic black man! He’ll dispense wisdom you’d forgotten that you needed to know and give you a kick in your spiritual pants. As a bonus, he’ll disappear once you’ve learned the appropriate life lessons!
Caution: magic black man may appear scary on first appearance, but he does have a soft nougatty center. Magic black man should not be confused with threatening black youth or sassy black sistah.
Don’t get me wrong – I liked the movie. But the magic black man has become to American movies what the leprechaun has become to Irish films – a lazy screenwriting convention designed to establish a mood and push the plot forward when realistic human interaction is too hard to pull off.
