Based in part on director Jim Sheridan痴 own experiences growing up, In America is a touching and poignant film about a family of Irish immigrants who move to New York to escape a tragedy and start a new life. Love binds them together as they struggle to rebuild, coping as best they can to overcome obstacles in their path.

        In America is fantastically scripted, but the films real strengths lie in the performances. Samantha Morton is utterly convincing as a mother who has forced herself to get past the loss of her child so that she can be a source of strength to her young daughters. Paddy Considine matches Morton痴 performance as the frustrated father, doing whatever it takes to provide for his family, throwing himself into the task so completely he has suppressed any emotion stirred up by the tragedy that befell them. Emma and Sarah Bolger, real-life sisters, absolutely steal this film. They are child actors wise beyond their years, but their performances here are entirely natural and completely unaffected. They are adorable, to be sure, but, beyond that, they possess a mastery of this material that simply boggles the mind. For me, their performances in this film ranked as highly as Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider or Evan Rachel Wood in Thirteen in terms of skill and effectiveness. Djimon Hounsou is also quite effective as a neighbor in their building, filled with rage and coping with tragic circumstances of his own. Although I feel his character was given short shrift by the script, the transformation wrought in him by the two little girls is heartwarming as he opens himself up to their unconditional love.

       I mentioned before that the script is fantastic. Striking a nice balance between sadness and humor, In America plucks the heartstrings without becoming treacly or heavy-handed. While grief is certainly at the core of the story, it never overshadows it. Having lost children myself, I felt the story never pandered to the process nor did it trivialize it, rather depicting the pain of loss realistically and with respect.

       DVD extras are scarce, limited to full-length feature commentary by Sheridan, a handful of deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and a brief behind the scenes look at the film. In America is offered in both 1.85:1 widescreen and 1.33:1 full screen and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound.

In America is an outstanding film, a moving portrait of a family pulling together with love and humor to overcome life痴 challenges.