Film Quick Review: In America

As the tale of an Irish immigrant family over the course of its first year in America, the film's best moments are on par with the finest quality of drama. The daily goings-on in a new, unfamiliar country -- in New York's notorious Hell's Kitchen, no less -- are shown with a stark reality (good and bad) from an outsider's viewpoint. However, a significant portion of the movie is bogged down in melodrama, mainly due to a mass of contrived tragedies and the inherent small bouts of overacting that are a result of such storytelling. While the film is a solid piece, it could have benefited from a cleaner focus and thus become a truly great film.

Score: 7.0