I was blown away by other's neg comments. I enjoyed it!!

Author: bertelv from USA, San Diego
22 October 2004

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The story is if a family running away from a tragedy. They find a tenement in a big city and try to survive. They do okay. Then through a neighbor who has AIDS and a new baby they learn to face their problem.

I read some of the comments of others. They all seem to be negative. I really enjoyed it. My family and I were riveted the whole time. I saw neither inconsistencies nor over melodrama. That is, I saw no more that in any other movies. All movies are just snapshots and almost all are lies. This one is no more or less in that regard. It was a melodrama about over coming tragedy. It communicated to me.The actors were realistic. I especially enjoyed the girls. I also enjoy seeing .Sorry for you naysayers. You are just picking the nits from the nats.

Angels in Manhattan

Author: jotix100 from New York
20 December 2003

Two of the reasons for going to see this film are: Emma and Christy Bolger. They steal the movie from under more established stars. They make us see their new world *through their eyes. It is magic to them to be in a new city, where they discover new things every day. They are disarming.

America, the land that receives so many immigrants can be a hostile environment for a lot of people. For Johnny and Sarah, New York is a place full of surprises, as it must be to a lot of people whose dream is to make it there. This film is about their struggle to survive in pursuing a dream that turns out to be a nightmare for them, in many aspects.

Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton make the struggling Irish immigrants very real under the direction of Jim Sheridan, who is supposed to be the Johnny of the story. What they have to deal with in their new home, eventually make them conquer a world that's not kind to them. Nothing is given to them on a silver platter, which is the case with most illegal people in the country, so their tale is very believable and true to the pioneer spirit they have within themselves.

It is the fantastic performance of the two Bolger sisters, as the daughters, which brings this film into focus. They have their feet on the ground and they know the ordeal their parents are facing. Their luminous faces and natural endear them to us in a special way. We owe Mr. Sheridan and family a lot for their courage to show us what they went through at their arrival in America.

3 Wishes

Author: David Ferguson (fergusontx@gmail.com) from Dallas, Texas
10 December 2003

Greetings again from the darkness. I have no idea what has taken so long for this film to be released. Director/Producer/Writer Jim Sheridan ("My Left Foot", "In the Name of the Father" "The Boxer") has always been a tremendous filmmaker and with "In America" he has become a wonderful story teller. This semi-autobiographical picture was co-written by Sheridan and his two daughters and is the story of an Irish family's immigration to New York. I am a fan of Levinson's "Avalon" and Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" and I will rank this with both. It causes what I call "crossover". That is when I no longer feel I am watching a movie, but that I become part of the story. The characters are no longer actors, but real people. The writing, directing and acting are all terrific. Paddy Considine (a Stephen Rea lookalike), Samantha Morton ("Minority Report"), Djimon Hounsou ("Gladiator") are all exceptional in their roles.

However, this movie belongs to the real-life Bolger sisters, Sarah and Emma, who play Christy and Ariel. Ariel's innocence and need to believe along with Christy's wisdom-beyond-her-years truly make this film work. Rarely do child actors carry a movie of significance. While these two bring joy, laughter, sadness and tears, they never cross the line of overly cute or overly sympathetic. Another odd twist to this film is the importance that Spielberg's "E.T" plays. The dream of home and the presence of aliens (drug dealers, etc) in their tenemant tie in nicely. Their friendship with Mateo (Hounsou) is both bizarre and heartwarming. This is an extremely emotional ride for the audience, but one well worth taking.