There are a number of credibility defying moments in this film, but as you watch, you begin to see them as real, or at least wish they were real. A lot of the spark and magic in the story is provided by real life sisters, Sarah and Emma Bolger, portraying the young daughters of Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah (Samantha Morton) Sullivan, newly arrived immigrants from Ireland via Canada. Though it's a modern day story, the picture's cinematography evokes a somewhat earlier era, perhaps a time when New York City might have been a tad safer and more welcoming, even though you might not get that perspective from the run down apartment building the Sullivans are forced to call home. There's a plaintive quality to the life of the Sullivan Family, as they live in the shadow of a young son's death at the age of two, both parents blaming themselves and each other for what was an unfortunate accident, and even more dismally, the specter of a brain tumor that would have taken it's eventual toll. The presence of their screaming-man neighbor Mateo (Djimon Hounsou) turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as the evolving friendship between him and the Sullivans, particularly the girls, reveals a humanity in people that often remains unseen until we take the trouble to get to know them. The story is loosely built around the idea of Christy's (Sarah Bolger) three wishes granted by her deceased brother Frankie. There's only one moment when I thought the script writers took things a little too far, and that was when Christy stated to her dad that she had been carrying the weight of the family around ever since Frankie died. She may have thought so in the deep recesses of her mind, and maybe even felt that way, but no child of her age would have been capable of expressing such a sentiment in words the way she did. But for me, that's a minor nit-pick, as the over all story is one of quiet reflection and inspiration, and not without an occasional tear to share with the Sullivan family.

After the death of their young son Frankie, Irish couple Johnny (Paddy Considine) and Sarah Sullivan (Samantha Morton) are illegal immigrants with their daughters Christy (Sarah Bolger) and Ariel (Emma Bolger) crossing the border from Canada. While Sarah is waitressing, Johnny tries to make it as an actor. She gets pregnant but the family is still haunted by the lost of Frankie. They live in a rundown drug-infested building in Manhattan. The girls befriend screaming artist neighbor Mateo (Djimon Hounsou),the only one who opened the door for them trick or treating.

There is a magical realism to this movie which is so heart-warming. It's not completely real but digs into something truer. Paddy is amazing and the Bolger girls are brilliant. There is one scene at a carnival fair that is incredibly intense. The stakes are so low and yet so high that it is more heart-pounding than most Hollywood car chases.

A family of Irish immigrants adjust to life on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen while also grieving the death of a child.

The film was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay for the Sheridans, Best Actress for Samantha Morton and Best Supporting Actor for Djimon Hounsou. Yet, the real reason to watch this is for the two sisters and how charming they are.

Ebert wrote, "In America is not unsentimental about its new arrivals (the movie has a warm heart and frankly wants to move us),but it is perceptive about the countless ways in which it is hard to be poor and a stranger in a new land." More than this, it shows an interesting cross-section of race and nationality. Not the great film it wants to make itself out to be, but still a rather light-hearted walk down the path of modern immigration (keeping it even lighter by having the immigrants speak English).