(The Boxer, The Field, In America, In The Name of the Father, My Left Foot)
)
Producers:
Arthur Lappin and Jim Sheridan
Screenplay:
Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan and Kirsten Sheridan
Music :
Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer
Cast :
Johnny: Paddy Considine
Sarah: Samantha Morton
Chrsty: Sarah Bolger
Ariel: Emma Bolger
Frankie: Ciaran Cronin
Mateo: Djimon Hounsou
Papo: Juan Hernandez
In America
anything is possible and a few weird things can happen too.
That's the impression I got as the film begins in 1983 when the Sullivans, an
Irish immigrant family move to Manhattan to start a new life, with Johnny
(Paddy Considine) trying to get a foothold in the acting business while
trying to provide for his family, while his wife Sarah (the enchanting
Samantha Morton, although I wish she'd grow her hair for a change)
performs menial jobs to get by.
So, with that set up, you then begin to enjoy the fact that not an awful lot
is due to actually happen in this film, such as when a comedic moment is
brought about from an air-conditioning unit with one major flaw and the
struggle to overcome that, plus a moment of tension brought about as the family
try to win an ET toy at the local fair, and although it's a cliche, I really
hate to use the words "funny and touching" but for a time this film does
exactly that.
Samantha Morton - grow your hair!
Most of the film is told through the eyes of Christy, the family's elder
daughter. She asks Frankie, the son of the family who died at an early age,
for three wishes to get them through their initial time in America. Given that
the film was dedicated to a "Frankie Sheridan", I can only presume this fate
was inflicted upon the lives of the director and his family.
Sadly, as the film goes on and impassioned anger is delivered by the main
characters, this fails to come across like you'd expect and so it drifts on
towards its eventual conclusion without direction, something that at first you
don't mind because you're enjoying it as it finds its way, but halfway through
you're now expecting drama to carry the story along and it just doesn't really
come.
There's a sub-plot thrown in to eek things out as they, at first, annoy
neighbour and all-round weirdo Mateo (Djimon Hounsou), but then they
take him into their hearts and the male willy-waving (not literally) between
him and Johnny settles down things settle back into their rather dull rut.
It's not the fault of the cast as they do their best with the material, but
such a weak storyline doesn't help and in the end you don't really care what
happens to the outcome of the key characters. Disappointing.
The Sullivans - not shy about their coconuts.
The film is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen and has no problems
getting across the bright streets of Manhattan as the family arrive, through
to the grim apartment they rent before they tart it up. The sound is in Dolby
Digital 5.1, but such a drama never makes particularly great use of this
apart from a handful of minor ambient noises in the quietest moments.
The extras on this disc are far from anything to shout about: a few deleted
scenes that add nothing to what you've already seen (12½ mins), a
'making of' (20 mins) that's just a collection of clips interspersed by bog-standard
pleasantries from the main cast and crew - and in both cases, the film clips are
in letterbox 1.85:1 rather than anamorphic. Oh, and a director's commentary, if that's
your bag.
The disc is also inflicted with a few piss-annoying trailers that you're
forced to sit through the second the disc boots up as if it was a rental title.
However, at least with this disc you can fast-forward through them.
The film contains 28 chapters, subtitles are available in English and the
main menu is animated and scored with a looped piece of music from the film.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
