Taglines: love is all you need.
Sam Dawson has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old. He works at a Starbucks and is obsessed with the Beatles. He has a daughter with a homeless woman; she abandons them as soon as they leave the hospital. He names his daughter Lucy Diamond (after the Beatles song), and raises her. But as she reaches age 7 herself, Sam’s limitations start to become a problem at school; she’s intentionally holding back to avoid looking smarter than him. The authorities take her away, and Sam shames high-priced lawyer Rita Harrison into taking his case pro bono. In the process, he teaches her a great deal about love, and whether it’s really all you need.
I Am Sam (stylized i am sam) is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with a developmental disability, Dakota Fanning as his inquisitive daughter, and Michelle Pfeiffer as his lawyer. Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine, Richard Schiff, and Laura Dern appear in supporting roles.
For his role as Sam, Sean Penn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002. The film launched the career of child actress Dakota Fanning, who was then seven years old and had only acted in two small roles. She became the youngest actress to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. The movie’s title is derived from the opening lines “I am Sam / Sam I am” of the book Green Eggs and Ham, which is read in the movie.
About the Story
Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), a man with a developmental disability, is the single father of Lucy (Dakota Fanning), following their abandonment by her mother, who is revealed to be a homeless woman who “just needed a place to sleep”. Despite his limitations, Sam is well-adjusted and has a supportive group of friends with developmental disabilities, as well as a kind, agoraphobic neighbor Annie (Dianne Wiest) who takes care of Lucy when Sam cannot. Though Sam provides a loving and caring environment for precocious Lucy, she soon surpasses his mental ability. Other children tease her for having a “retard” as a father, and she becomes too embarrassed to accept that she is more intellectually advanced than Sam.
After his parenting abilities come into question, and on the advice of his friends, Sam approaches a high-powered lawyer, Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer), whose brusque manner, fast-paced schedule and difficult personal life have earned her a reputation as cold and unfeeling. In an attempt to prove to others that she is not heartless, Rita surprisingly agrees to take on Sam’s case pro bono. As they work together to secure Sam’s parental rights, Sam unwittingly helps Rita with her family problems, including encouraging her to leave her philandering husband and repairing her fractious relationship with her son. She and Sam have a physical and emotional moment together when they reveal that they never feel good enough.
At the trial, Sam breaks down after opposing counsel convinces him that he is not capable of being a father. After the trial, Lucy resides in a foster home with Randy Carpenter (Laura Dern), but tries to convince Sam to help her run away, and continually escapes in the middle of the night to go to Sam’s apartment, whereupon (having learned from the failed attempt to run away) he immediately returns her. Ultimately, the foster family decide not to adopt her like they initially planned. They decide to return her to Sam, Randy will tell the judge that Sam is a suitable and better parent for Lucy. Sam also made an arrangement that Randy will help him raise her.
Film Review for I Am Sam
There’s a great moment at the end of The Usual Suspects when Kevin Spacey’s Verbal Kint suddenly drops his foot-dragging crippled gait as he walks away from the police station. Watching Jessie Nelson’s I Am Sam, Sean Penn’s entry in the Oscar Handicap Stakes, one kept wishing he’d pull himself together and show that it was all a joke.
Penn plays Sam Dawson, a man with the mental age of seven, and if you’ve seen the earlier films of its director – Corrina Corrina, Stepmom and The Story of Us – you’ll know that restraint and astringency have been expunged from her lexicon.
Dawson’s highly intelligent daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning) is the result of a one-night stand with a homeless, unseen woman, and he’s allowed to bring her up until she’s seven. At this point the social services insist she be handed over to foster parents.
A court case ensues. Simple-minded Sam is a saint with tantrums and he’s surrounded by a group of kindly, similarly retarded men, and by actresses well versed in the ‘sad-plucky’ mode – Michelle Pfeiffer (his initially reluctant ace lawyer), Dianne Wiest (reclusive musician next door), Mary Steenburgen (medical doctor raised by a retarded mother), Laura Dern (designated foster mother).
Imagine an ad-lib comedy programme in which a participant is called on to perform Kramer vs Kramer in the style of Rain Man for over two hours you’ll have some idea of I Am Sam. One should add that the product placement is outrageous, with Sam employed first at Starbucks, then at Pizza Hut, where his bosses are models of political correctness.
vI Am Sam (2001)
Directed by: Jessie Nelson
Starring: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine, Richard Schiff, Laura Dern, Brad Silverman, Stanley DeSantis, Rosalind Chao
Screenplay by: Kristine Johnson, Jessie Nelson
Production Design by: Aaron Osborne
Cinematography by: Elliot Davis
Costume Design by: Susie DeSanto
Set Decoration by: Jennifer M. Gentile, Garrett Lewis
Art Direction by: Erin Cochran
Music by: John Powell
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date: December 28, 2001
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