In America vs E.T.

In America, the latest movie from Jim Sheridan, is a moving tale about an Irish family new to the United States. It’s sad, funny, smart and human in a way that movies rarely are. I think it’s the best movie of 2003.

We first meet the main characters of In America as they cross the border from Canada to the United States. Because they have rehearsed their story, we know that they are not on holiday, but that is what they tell the guards who approach their car. They have two daughters; one is animated and friendly, the other silent behind a video camera. The parents seem tired and sad, and we get a sense of their condition when the dad mistakenly says he has three children. He corrects himself: “We lost one.”

The parents are Johnny, an actor, and his wife, Sarah, a teacher. In America, they find that neither will maintain their previous profession, with Sarah becoming a waitress, and Johnny still an actor, but the New York kind, meaning he auditions constantly and otherwise cashes in glass bottles for spare change. At one point, Sarah says “Sometimes I think our entire lives are make-believe,” and it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t mean it as a compliment. They get an apartment in a horrible building, otherwise occupied by drugs, pigeons, and “the man who screams”. Soon, they’ve fixed it up enough, and the family finds a way to carry on, although everyone knows something isn’t quite right.

The daughters, Ariel and Christy, have fun in their new home, not realizing how poor they are. Ariel is energetic and funny, Christy more introspective, narrating the film and watching the world mainly through her camera. She tells us, early on, that her deceased brother Frankie once granted her three wishes. She seems to believe in them, and how and when she uses the wishes is one of the small joys of In America. She makes good use of those wishes, that’s all I’m saying.

On Halloween, the girls, seeking to become more like their American classmates, go trick-or-treating in their building. Ariel explains how it works: “In America, no one asks. They threaten. Trick or treat!” They bang on door after door, with no answers (which is just as well, since the treats are likely to be either drugs or pigeons), until Mateo flings open his door to stop their pounding. Mateo is an artist and photographer. Until now, we’ve only seen him screaming, destroying one painting, and creating another with what appears to be his own blood. Surprisingly, he’s gentle and friendly with the girls. Johnny and Sarah are watching from the stairwell, and seem relieved that the girls have finally found a neighbor, something they probably had back home. The girls trust Mateo, equally out of the wonder that someone actually invited them inside, and the good they can obviously sense in him. Ariel tells Mateo about her brother (he developed a brain tumor after a fall), and moves him to tears.  Although Johnny is suspicious, Mateo is invited for dinner, and a tentative new friendship begins.

I love the way Jim Sheridan handles Mateo and his relationships with his new neighbors.  Mateo is mysterious, and remains so. It’s not like the girls break right through and he’s suddenly a teddy bear. There’s a moment when Johnny confronts Mateo about his intentions with his wife and kids, and Mateo’s answer is so direct and specific I was taken aback. You might figure out Mateo’s secret before Johnny does, but the impact of hearing it out loud will still shock.

And so, life goes on. Johnny keeps auditioning, Sarah keeps waiting tables, and the girls find happiness in things like ice cream and transvestites. There is a development, one I’ll not reveal here, and a crisis, and they’re each presented with an unbelievable amount of grace and intelligence.

Jim Sheridan, who is Irish, wrote In America with his daughters, Naomi and Kristen, and the film is dedicated to Frankie Sheridan (just when I thought an end credit couldn’t make me burst into tears…), so I assume much of the movie is autobiographical. The character Mateo is so specific and genuine, he must be based on someone real. And there are moments that ring so true, like Johnny spending all his money at a carnival game, just so he can win an E.T. doll for Ariel, and the lengths he goes to for air-conditioning.

I haven’t mentioned the actors of In America, because during the movie, I gave them little thought. Each is wonderful, and observant of human behavior in such a way that they never seemed like anything other than the characters they portray. Samantha Morton plays Sarah as a proud, gentle woman. She’s frustrated by their new life, but also, in a way, the most hopeful. Morton is becoming known for her silent roles (she barely spoke in Minority Report and didn’t speak at all in Sweet and Lowdown), but here, there are moments where she lashes out in an amazing way. In case you were wondering, Samantha Morton has a big full voice, and she knows how to use it. She uses silence well too though, especially in a scene where she and Johnny find themselves home alone during a storm. Paddy Considine plays Johnny, a man who experiences just enough of every possible emotion to not actually experience any emotion at all. His struggles, especially with lack of work and the sadness over his son, are all deeply felt with small gestures. Djimon Hounsou plays Mateo, and although his physical appearance plays a part in his character, for once it’s not the complete basis for his character. Hounsou is amazing, elevating every scene he’s in.

And the girls…Sarah and Emma Bolger play Christy and Ariel. They’re perfect. They just are. I can’t even get into it here. Perfect. Christy’s maturity about life and death, Ariel’s fear of not saying goodbye, their little homemade Halloween costumes…

In America is a beautiful movie.

I don’t really have a double-feature comparison or companion for In America, at least not yet. There are other movies about immigrants, other movies about loss and family and poverty. None of them moved me the way In America did, and none seem as natural and true. E.T. is referenced a couple times in In America though, so maybe you should watch that, and then go out and look at the moon.

In America: A
E.T. The Extra-terrestrial: A