In America
A grieving Irish family builds a fragile new life in a Manhattan tenement where hardship, imagination, and unexpected compassion gradually become forms of survival.
Overview
A family's journey through grief and hope unfolds in a new land filled with challenges.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- sincere
- warm
- reflective evening
- emotional movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Jim Sheridan’s sincere direction, emotionally powerful performances, and perceptive portrait of an Irish immigrant family adjusting to poverty and life in New York.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Christy records the family’s life with her camcorder and interprets events through her belief in Frankie’s angel and three wishes.
The Sullivans’ emigration to Manhattan is driven by economic hope but remains haunted by the death of five-year-old Frankie.
The family struggles in a Hell’s Kitchen tenement while extending emotional support to Mateo and other marginalized residents.
Christy believes Frankie’s angel has granted her three wishes, turning grief and hope into an imaginative framework for the family’s crisis.
Films like In America, and why
The Namesake
moving immigrant family drama centered on poverty, grief, and belonging in an urban setting
The Visitor
warm, bittersweet family drama about newcomers building a life amid economic hardship
Billy Elliot
emotionally direct coming-of-age drama combining family loss, outsider identity, and urban community
The Pursuit of Happyness
intimate social drama about struggling people finding connection and dignity in difficult circumstances
Movie Details
- Director
- Jim Sheridan
- Release Date
- 2003-09-22
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (399)
Cast
- Samantha Morton
- Paddy Considine
- Sarah Bolger
- Emma Bolger
- Djimon Hounsou
- David Wike
- Michael Sean Tighe
- Juan Carlos Hernández
- René Millan
- Nick Dunning
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is In America about?
- A grieving Irish family builds a fragile new life in a Manhattan tenement where hardship, imagination, and unexpected compassion gradually become forms of survival.
- What is In America like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of In America as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is In America violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in In America.
- What did critics think of In America?
- Critics broadly praised Jim Sheridan’s sincere direction, emotionally powerful performances, and perceptive portrait of an Irish immigrant family adjusting to poverty and life in New York.
- Which films are like In America?
- Films with a similar feel include The Namesake, The Visitor, Billy Elliot, and The Pursuit of Happyness.
- How long is In America?
- In America runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch In America?
- In United States, In America is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
