I Am Sam Movie
Storyline
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.
| Sean Penn | Sam Dawson |
| Richard Schiff | Mr. Turner |
| Brad Silverman | Brad |
| Joseph Rosenberg | Joe |
| Stanley DeSantis | Robert |
| Doug Hutchison | Ifty |
| Ken Jenkins | Judge Philip McNeily |
| Mason Lucero | Conner Rhodes |
| Scott Paulin | Duncan Rhodes |
| Bobby Cooper | George |
| Michael B. Silver | Dr. Jaslow |
| Chase MacKenzie Bebak | Willy Harrison |
| Rafer Weigel | Bruce |
| Brent Spiner | Shoe Salesman |
| David Nathan Schwartz | Principal |
7.30 out of 10 (23365 votes)
Visitor Reviews
HI, THIS IS SAM!!!!!
posted on 18 Aug 2009The movie starts the day Sam Dawson (Sean Penn)'s daughter is born. He is fascinated by her and names her Lucy Diamond after the Beatles song. He loves Lucy, and raises her to be seven. But unfortunately, Sam's mental capacity is near that of a seven-year-old, so that becomes a problem--whether or not he can raise his daughter. So eventually, a lawyer named Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfieffer) takes his case.I was told Sean Penn used to beat up photographers, but I'm not hesitant to say he did a good job in "I Am Sam." Maybe it's because this is the first movie starring him that I've seen, but I believed he was the mentally retarded but lovable Sam. And Michelle Pfieffer did a great job. Her character, Rita, is basically heartless. But Sam changes her and gets her to spend more time with her family.But the real standout performance was Dakota Fanning, who played Lucy. She was excellent for a child actor, and same here, I believed her.Like others say, this WAS filmed at weird camera angles, but I think it fits the theme. It's in the eyes of Sam, who sees everything in a different way. How something is filmed shouldn't affect whether or not you want to see it (except maybe "The Blair Witch Project"), because then you would miss a really great movie, because that's what "I Am Sam" is.---------9/10
A heart wrenching journey to the depths of love
posted on 10 Aug 2009A different love story than I have seen in Hollywood is greatly amplified by Hollywood's greatest. A splendid mixture of laughs, tears, and empathy create an emotional struggle that hasn't been felt this much by audiences before. The characters became well liked, many whom you could identify with. A recommendation for anyone searching for something in life to reassure them of what the human heart and mind are capable of.
Family loved this film
posted on 29 Jul 2009A long list of family members attended this film with me, including my wife, my son (9), my daughter and her boy friend (both 18), my younger brother, my father and my step mother. We each left the theatre with a smile on our face, eager to mention things that made us happy and sad.I don't know Sean Penn from a hole in the ground, but I would say he did an excellent job, as did his 'daughter' in the film. What a magnificent find she is for the movie-going public. (And it's never hard to watch Michelle in a film. She did a great job, though if the language were edited here and there, it would have made a much better film -- but I digress).We asked ourselves afterwards whether we were laughing at or with the handicapped people -- and we agreed that we were laughing with them.This is such an entertaining film, though I didn't like the moving camera (hand held?) that seemed to make the film look a little like my home videos, but I guess there's some artistic point/approach being made/taken.I know there were a number of holes in the story, but if films are meant to entertain, this really accomplished this. If it's to make us think, and to act (to love our children more), then it did that, too. Cynics may not like this film, but then, you can rarely please them.
Seriously flawed but well-meaning
posted on 29 Jul 2009First, I must state that I have personal knowledge of people like the Character played by Sean Penn. It makes my disappointment in the shameless manipulation of the filmmakers all the more palpable. It's heart is certainly in the right place, but it goes so over the top to extract tears and emotion from the audience that I can NOT recommend the film to anybody without serious reservations. Sean Penn does a fine job. Period. To all those who have mocked and ridiculed his performance, I would simply say that I sincerely wish you never have to deal with people with this form of handicap in your own family. It has been a disgrace how some "well educated" people have dismissed Penn's characterization with a shocking lack of compassion. Shame on them. Unfortunately, I can not defend the rest of the film from it's critics. Every character (except the little girl) seems to be afflicted with some type of malady or personal angst. Every scene seems to be included for maximum exploitation of one's emotions. Damn the filmmakers all you want, but not those portrayed.
Don't waste your time
posted on 27 Jul 2009Why is it that every time someone plays a "mentally challenged" person the critics think the performance is great? Guess what, this one ain't. Sean Penn is horrible. He hasn't had a good performance in years, and this one doesn't break the streak. That guy needs to hang it up.
Do you like this "I Am Sam"? Yes, I like it, Sam I am.
posted on 17 Jul 2009Do you like this "I Am Sam"?/Yes, I like it, Sam I am. *** What do you think of Sean Penn?/He is such a great actor when/He plays this role, trying to keep his daughter/He does it perfectly, through fire and water *** Does Michelle Pfeiffer do a good job?/She does, even if it makes you sob/I don't usually think much of her/But she's quite swell here, as it were *** And Dakota Fanning, is she alright?/She's a good actress/Every day and night/She's more than cute, I gotta say/This girl's got potential in every way *** So how much do you rate this flick?/Why do you ask? Is that a trick?/It's definitely something that you should see/The movie's as well done as can be *** Apologies to Dr. Seuss
Sean Penn deserves an Oscar nomination.
posted on 13 Jul 2009Sean Penn deserves an Oscar nomination for best actor in a very touching and compelling story. No one should remains cold facing such a powerful human drama. After all, are we in a way or the other, all mentally handicaped? Jessie Nelson (director)handles the story in a very brave and honest way. Her casting is almost perfect although Michelle Pfeiffer sometimes plays over the top. But Dakota Fanning gives one of the best performance by a kid in many years. Remember that name DAKOTA FANNING. she'll be a huge star in the future. It's the short but so effective part of the foster mother, played by Laura Dern, which synthetizes best the emotional response from the audience. I have hear in other reviews that I Am Sam was a"chick' movie. Let me tell you, that in a full house on a Saturday night, a lots of "roasters" were sobbing too.I Am Sam deserves 8 out 10. A must see movie.Sputtosi
mr penn
posted on 13 Jun 2009I'll get right to my point how in the world doesn't the oscar go to sean penn for this role i'll never know it makes me not want to view the oscar's on tv anymore. This performace stacks up with dustin hoffman in rainman, with marlon brando in the godfather, it is by far the best acting i have seen in sometime i don't know who votes on who get the oscar each year but they should be ashamed plain and simple.
All You Need is Love
posted on 05 Jun 2009What an awesome movie!! Sean, Michelle, and Dakota are all amazing! The story is so heart-warming, and when I watched it I felt every emotion possible. Sean Penn, I cant even describe in words how awesome he was. Michelle...the character we hated to the character we loved. Dakota omg! you're so cute... Comparing this movie to The Rainman is completely unrealistic. Sean and Dustin both had difficult roles to play in different stories. The story is different. They both were amazing in the movies that they did, theres NO comparing of who was better. After watching this movie I realized that I would never trade my parents for anyone else. I love them just the way they are. I think they are both amazing people. 10/10!! (one of my Favs)John, Paul, Ringo, and George couldnt of sang it any better, "All You Need is Love"
And I Am Horrified
posted on 26 May 2009This movie is so insulting in its depiction of mentally handicapped people it makes "The Other Sister" look like a lovingly crafted documentary about Down's syndrome. Aren't retarded people cute? Aren't they earnest? Why... they're almost like us real people!Sean Penn plays a sweet autistic/retarded man who has somehow fathered a child (when and how and with whom? never really explained) and Michelle Pfeiffer plays the cliched overworked, no-time-for-her-family, badly-needs-to-learn-what's-important-in-life-from-a-retarded-person career woman lawyer who is shamed into defending Penn's character in court when he is threatened with having his daughter taken away from him. It goes on forever, for no reason. Top it all off with one of those child actors who speaks as if she's forty-five years old playing the daughter, and you're all set to run at the screen with a machete. Penn and Pfeiffer surely must have thought they were earning their places in Heaven when they signed on to overact in this condescending, absurd, overwrought trash. Or maybe they did it to win prizes. If there is a God, they will be denied anything shiny for their collective hubris.I don't want to overstate how offensive this thing is, but seeing this movie is tantamount to saying, "I hate retarded people".
Oh. Wow.
posted on 30 Apr 2009The production values are competent (though the blue casting was annoying and is really becoming overused). The story is sweet. The soundtrack is wonderful. But Sean Penn is, once again, absolutely, utterly brilliant. This man is truly one of the most gifted story tellers of our time. He totally floored me in "Dead Man Walking", and just left me speechless with this performance. I haven't seen "Training Day", so I can't honestly compare, but as much as I like Denzel Washington, I think Sean should have gotten this one.Dianne Wiest was wonderful as always; I would have liked to learn a little more about her character. Michelle Pfeiffer was competent; I don't really have anything against her, but she's never really caught my attention as an actress. Some other favorites were here: Ken Jenkins, Doug Hutchison, Rosalind Chao, Laura Dern. Overall, a fantastic film.
What i think is the real point of the film.
posted on 26 Apr 2009Wheel after seeing the best movie of the world for 5 times and appreciating the brilliant performance of Sean Penn and all characters, i was think to myself of what is the real objective of the director Jessie Nelson.I think that behind the issue of the movie about the story of Sam trying to achieve Lucy's custody, the true goal of the film is to open our eyes about what is the most important things in our lives.It's clear in the movie that all the institutions that we created to rule our lives just fail when our deep emotions begin to show.Indeed, i think the question that appears on the movie is: What is really important to us?Reason or emotion?Is because of this and a lot of things that i consider this movie all perfect and that everyone in the world should watch it too.This movie added a lot in my life and showed me that all that we have to have in mind is to live well, happily and lovely.
great acting
posted on 24 Apr 2009OK so I Am Sam is not exactly movie perfection but it will go down in movie history for its great perfromances from all its lead actors. I have never been a big Sean Penn fan, I find him to be often sleazy and uninteresting but he is by far the highlight of this movie. He gives a believably, heart breaking performance from start to finish and he is so accurate you almost believe that he actually does have a problem. He plays a loveing father with the IQ of a seven year old and has his daughter taken away from him because it is believed that he can not provide the girl with the life that she needs. The film contains many powerful scenes one of the most note worthy is a scene where they lawyers are questioning the little girl about what her father can give her and the little girls replys all I need is love. Michelle Pfiffer also gives a great performance as a heartless laywer whoes life is falling apart around her. The one thing that is wrong with this movie is the choppy editing which makes the courtroom scenes seem rather bland and uninteresting. Also the use of dark lighting makes this movie probably to intense for younger viewers. All in all this is a very powerful movie and Penn has never been better so if you are a fan of Penn of just want something that will instantly melt your heart I Am Sam is for you.
Not the greatest film, but better than I thought it would be
posted on 24 Apr 2009Parts of it were too cheesy and ‘ABC Afterschool Special'ish. The movie was also too simplistic and illogical-they never explained how a mentally-impaired man with the mentality of a 7 year-old could handle a baby-a job that is hard enough for mentally sound adults! Not only that, but how could he support himself and Lucy living in L.A., in a fairly nice apartment on $8.00/hr? Bascially, there wasn't much depth to this film. But it was very well done on the emotional level-it really touched my heart and almost drove me to tears, and I am someone who hates those mushy movies! The characters were very well fleshed out as far as their psyches went. And the whole psychological thing involving parenting and what makes a person sound and decent was very interesting and intriguing. The movie is worth it alone just to see the number of amazing performances-Sean Penn, Dakota Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laura Dern and Dianne Weist just rocked. Penn gave an extremely impressive performance and definitely earned his Oscar nomination. So no, this movie isn't quite that deep, but it is definitely a real feel-good movie worth a glance. I give it 6/10.
all i need is love
posted on 14 Apr 2009"I Am Sam" is one of the best and underrated films of 2001.Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) has the intelligence of a seven-year-old. He has a seven-year-old daughter Lucy (the very delightful Dakota Fanning). Child's Services take Lucy away from Sam and Sam hires (probono) lawyer Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfieffer) to defend him and get his daughter back.The movie has a great script, real characters and although the film was filmed with handheld cameras, I thought the cinematography was extremely unique. I even liked the computer keyboard and high heel noises Sam heard while he was at Rita's law firm office. The DVD extras were fantastic, they showed how Sean Penn prepared for his role as Sam. He imitated mentally-handicapped people in a respectful and dignified way, I really thought he deserved an Academy Award his role. Michelle Pfieffer gives one of the best performances of her career and Dakota Fanning shines in one of her first movie roles."I Am Sam" will leave you feeling good inside, this is honestly one of the only movies I have seen where I left the theatre feeling good and seeing the world in a different way. The music, all of which is by the Beatles, is unique and I liked Dianne Wiest as Sam's neighbor Annie. To rekindle the human spirit, "I Am Sam" is the film for you.
i have some questions
posted on 10 Apr 2009As another reviewer mentioned, why did the homeless chick (mother of Lucy) have sex with Sam in the first place? [part of me wonders if the kid was really his? was the chick already pregnant when she met Sam? was she disabled too?] And if they did have sex, wouldn't that encounter have a major impact on Sam? I'm assuming he probably did not have a ton of experience with women, especially sexually. Did the chick live with him for nine months?and yeah, Laura Dern's character just all of a sudden gave up the fight...but then Sam admits that he can't raise Lucy alone...duh? isn't that the question they are all trying to answer? what about the "guardianship" situation that Rita mentions? And if Sam expects the foster parents to stay involved, well what happens when they get their next foster kid and want to adopt that one? how would they have time to raise the new kid AND coddle Sam through raising Lucy?The DVD production notes talk a lot about LA Goal, a social service in LA that helps disabled adults. The film-makers spoke to real disabled fathers to make the film realistic. Then hey, why not showcase LA Goal in the movie and have Sam turn to them for help? I sort of thought that's where his friends came from, but they never mentioned it.Also, if that recluse Annie lady never left her room, how did she eat? or afford her place? I'm surprised Lucy turned out so outgoing with such a strange upbringing. Sam surely had a larger support system than that.Any way, I avoided this film for a long time. When I saw a teaser piece about it on Bravo, I seriously thought Penn and Pfeifer were just goofing off and making fun of disabled people. Ouch! or doing some little improv thing. But no, it was a feature. Now that I've seen the film, I appreciated it's heart but am extremely frustrated by the reality behind the story. Zwick is often guilty of this. "La la, here's a lovely story based on fantasy which will look like reality". Hello 30something! Maybe it would have been better as a short film, not giving the viewer any time to question these things. OR maybe a documentary about LA Goal would have been even more uplifting!And were Penn and the movie-trivia guy TOTALLY channeling our old pal Raymond? is there any fresh characterization going on in Hollywood? "Hi, I'm Sean Penn. For this movie, I'm going to put on my Dustin Hoffman Autistic mask. Look at me!"Otherwise, it was pretty cool to see Brent Spiner selling shoes.
Amazing
posted on 01 Mar 2009I really thought that I am Sam was amazing. To be completely honest it was better than I expected it was going to be. It was a very touching film and Sean Penn was great. Dakota Fanning has so much talent for such a young girl, I can't wait to see her in more movies in the future. I would recommend this movie to everyone.
Good (not great) sentimental film w/ lackluster writing
posted on 25 Feb 2009The performances in this movie are pretty good. Sean Penn is excellent as Sam, and makes for a believable character that you want to root for and care about. Michelle Pfeiffer is good (she's done far better) and the supporting cast turned in a pretty decent performance (some of Sam's group of friends are quite charming).Why don't I sound too positive about this movie? Based on a friend's recommendation, I had very high hopes for the film. Unfortunately, I probably started watching it with the wrong idea. 'I am Sam' is a sad, touching melodrama that could very well make you cry (or at least want to).As a few people have mentioned in reviews here, the lack of realism was a bit frustrating. I don't think every movie necessarily needs to strictly follow the laws of reality. But 'I am Sam' deals with subject matter that would be more effective without some of the candy-coating. This movie could have been *SO* much better!I was disappointed with Dakota Fanning's performance as Lucy. I understand it must be tough for child actors not to overact. But she really could have used some guidance in HOLDING BACK. A great example of a child actor NOT over-acting?? See David Dorfman as Sammy in Panic (2000).Michelle Pfeiffer was good, but somewhat disappointing. She seemed a little lazy in the role (especially at the beginning) - not really giving it her all (and I think Pfeiffer is terrific). I was also disappointed in some of the courtroom scenes, and especially the one-sided, stereotypical treatment of child protective services. Isn't it getting old by now? Making the agencies that look out for children's welfare out to be "the bad guys" is too easy.Overall, I'd say 'I am Sam' is worth watching, but only if taken as the slightly smarmy melodrama that it is. I would have enjoyed it much more had my expectations not been so high.
This is a great movie
posted on 22 Aug 2009Well, to start off i loved this movie it was great. the performances by Sean Penn, Michelle Pfieffer, and Dakota Fanning were wonderful. As well as Dianne Wiest and Laura Dern. Another wonderful star of the film was the music, as Sam is a big Beatles fan (his daughter's name is Lucy Diamond i.e. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds). It was a wonderful touching film, and the scene were Sam is watching Lucy testify through the TV is absolutly tear jerking.