Johnny, Sarah and their young daughters Christy and Ariel move to New York from Ireland. With barely any money they find an apartment in a run-down building that is overrun with drug addicts. Johnny, an actor, struggles to get a role and the family eke out an existence. Also hanging over them is the death of their son, Frankie. Then one day the little girls meet and befriend the mysterious, solitary neighbour, Mateo.
Written and directed by Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In The Name Of The Father), the movie is a bitter-sweet experience. The trials and tribulations of an immigrant family struggling to make ends meet, mixed with the recent tragedy in their history and the complexity of the Mateo situation make for an emotional journey. The daughters also provide a sweet, innocent perspective to proceedings.
Yet it all feels underdone. The family's situation is not as grittily shown as we imagine it should be. The basic summary of this movie reminded me of another Irish movie, Angela's Ashes, and that was a harrowing journey, where no positive outcomes are assured, making for an incredibly interesting and engaging experience. This movie is too neat and non-confrontational to feel like there are any really negative plot developments ahead.
In addition, certain key aspects are not developed very well. We never really get to know Mateo well enough to feel totally engaged by his character. Even the Frankie story, possibly the most emotional aspect to the movie, feels it is in there to demand our emotional energy rather than earn it, and the conclusion to that feels a bit clumsy.
Can't fault the performances though. Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton put in solid performances as Johnny and Sarah, as does Djimon Hounsou as Mateo and Sarah and Emma Bolger steal the show as Christy and Ariel.
Overall: an interesting, emotional movie but far from perfect.
