Overview: Reeling from a family tragedy, Irish immigrant Johnny (Paddy Considine); his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton); and their two imaginative young daughters look to start over in the United States. Full of hope, they move into a rundown tenement in the roughest part of Manhattan. They're there to live the American dream, but early on, the Big Apple proves to be a sour experience. Their place is a dump, good jobs are difficult to find, and dangers lurk everywhere.

Verdict: In pure hardhitting terms, 'In America' is perceptive about the countless ways in which it is hard to be poor and a stranger in a new land. And while the movie is definitely simple and unpretentious, its humanity and message of inclusiveness is evoked with heart-warming profundity at each given turn. Marvelously acted, 'In America' is a lesson-laden, tear-jerking fairy tale, but one feels that no one has ever told an immigrant story quite like this.