In America Film Review

In the film In America a family travels to the United States in search of their American Dream. After traveling to Canada from Ireland they enter the United States and settle in New York City. The faced many hardships in America, the first being trouble finding a place to live. They did not have much money after paying for everything they needed to get to the country, but they were determined not to fail. Their American Dream was to have a good quality of life and move on with their lives after the death of their son Frankie. They eventually succeed in their attempt and everyone, even the father, Johnny, is able to "Say goodbye to Frankie."

The family is quickly confronted with problems when they arrive in America. They have to search for a while to find a place to live and when they do it is not a very nice apartment and it isn't in a very good location. Sarah, the mother, has trouble finding a job that she was hoping to get and has to begin working in an ice cream shop to earn some money for the family. The father, Johnny, has trouble finding work as an actor and is forced to take a job driving a taxi to help pay for his daughters to attend private school. The heat causes a problem for the family and Johnny, determined to provide for his family, gets an air conditioner for their apartment, but after he goes to a lot of trouble to get it and all the necessary parts it breaks. Christy, the older of the two girls, keeps to herself mostly and uses her camcorder to record her thoughts and feelings. Ariel, the younger daughter, feels lonely because her sister has been keeping to herself and doesn't share her secrets with Ariel. The girls want to fit in with the other kids at school, but they are looked at differently because they are Irish. They feel as if they don't belong because of the things they do differently, such as wearing homemade costumes for Halloween and saying autumn instead of fall. To fit in they try to go trick-or treating, but are at a disadvantage because of where they live.

Despite all of the problems they have holding them back the family is able to live out their American Dream. The family feels more included in the community after becoming friends with Mateo, an ill man who lives in their building. Mateo also feels more accepted after he meets the family. After being in America for almost a year, Sarah has a child. Though it was unlikely the baby would be able to live healthily, it survives after receiving a blood transfusion from Christy. The family is faced with yet another problem as the medical bills from the new baby are very expensive. This problem is easily fixed though, when Mateo pays the bill for them as a final gift. The birth of the new baby and Mateo's death help the family achieve their dream. They are all finally able to move on with their lives and stop dwelling on Frankie's death. After "Say[ing] goodbye to Frankie," Johnny is able to "feel" again and can get a job acting to improve the family's quality of life.