In America

So, here are some Irish folks not hanging out in ‘Belfast’ but ‘In America’ this time.😊 After checking out Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” I decided to dive into “In America,” a 2002 film that follows an Irish family’s journey to start afresh in Manhattan. Just like how Belfast echoes Branagh’s Irish childhood, “In America” pulls from Jim Sheridan’s own life experiences.

Sheridan and his family lived it up in New York for eight years during the ’80s, and many scenes in the movie are straight from their real-life adventures—like blowing too much cash trying to win a doll for his daughters or dragging a massive air conditioner through traffic to cool their tenement apartment. After their American escapade, Sheridan headed back to Ireland to shoot his first feature film, “My Left Foot.”

While a big chunk of the film mirrors real life, it’s not all strictly autobiographical. Take the character Frankie, the deceased son in the film—that was Sheridan’s real-life brother. So, the dad in the movie is this mix of Sheridan and his own father.

And if you wonder how this light-toned family drama was written, you came to the right place. 🙂 Jim Sheridan teamed up with his daughters Naomi and Kirsten Sheridan to co-write “In America.” At first, he wrote two drafts, both focused on a fictional version of himself as the dad, but it just wasn’t clicking. So, he tossed the story over to his daughters, Naomi and Kirsten. They took charge and crafted a script that, in Sheridan’s words, “basically eliminated my character.” And unfortunately, the first script from the daughters lacked a gripping storyline and got a bit too gloomy, risking a thumbs-down from the audience. It was all about the girls shedding tears as they bid adieu to Ireland for America, saying goodbye to relatives, friends, and even their house. But at the end, the Sheridan family managed to blend these drafts into a workable script, “shifting the film’s perspective into a double perspective,” giving the audience a much richer experience.

Here’s another tidbit I stumbled upon: The movie, set in Manhattan, was filmed just after the events of 9/11 happened. Interesting, right?

And if you’re interested in learning more about Sheridan’s writing process, check out this : http://www.writersupercenter.com/studionotes/columns/article2638.htm