I Am Sam (2001)
Directed by Jessie Nelson
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam convinces high-priced lawyer Rita to take his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.
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12 films that influenced I Am Sam
What critics say influenced I Am Sam
At first glance, Jessie Nelson's I Am Sam may seem like a sort of Rain Man part 2, investigating what would happen if a developmentally disabled person were to father a child.
To grasp the shameless, trolling-for-Oscars concept behind "I Am Sam," an insufferably mawkish, mentally-challenged melodrama of self-aggrandizing proportions, just imagine a tear-jerking "Rain Man" sequel with Dustin Hoffman in a custody battle over a button-cute 7-year-old daughter.
I Am Sam learned everything it knows about retardation from Rain Man and Charly.
Reminiscent of so many other films where normal people learn from the mentally-challenged, (Charly, The Second Sister, Rain Man, etc.) Pfeiffer becomes a calmer, more competent attorney and parent as a result of her relationship with the good-hearted Sam (Penn), who bugs her, of course, but ultimately charms her.
There are some who will simply dismiss Penn's phenomenal performance in the title role as just another "Rain Man" but they'll be forgetting that Dustin Hoffman's contributions to that film were actually rather good (as was the film itself).
His performance ranks with that of Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man" and Leonardo DiCaprio in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."
The kind of performance Penn delivers in "I Am Sam," which may look hard, is easy, compared, say, to his amazing work in Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown."
Despite eliciting unavoidable comparisons to Dustin Hoffman's performance in "Rain Man" - a decidedly different film in story and tone - Penn's ("Sweet and Lowdown," "Up at the Villa") take on his higher functioning character is quite impressive, but I can see why some viewers might have problems with it.
Audiences who would have felt embarrassed about spilling tears at such (much better) testaments to the love of a mother like "Stella Dallas" or "Imitation of Life" could weep at this while feeling they were watching a picture "relevant" to their lives.
Audiences who would have felt embarrassed about spilling tears at such (much better) testaments to the love of a mother like "Stella Dallas" or "Imitation of Life" could weep at this while feeling they were watching a picture "relevant" to their lives.
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And whereas, on the surface, "I Am Sam" might simply be a shameless push by New Line Cinema to capture a Best Actor nomination in these closing For Your Consideration moments (in that "A Beautiful Mind"/"Forrest Gump"/"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" mold), underneath it's a well written, excellently acted, and perceptively directed drama.
His performance ranks with that of Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man" and Leonardo DiCaprio in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."
I think what really made me mad is that I thought the movie was over as Sam gave his Big Speech....BIG GODDAMN SPOILER ALERT! but it turns out to be the big speech from Kramer vs. Kramer.
In the years since Forrest Gump, films celebrating the triumph of the human spirit have trailed off into either self-parody or irrelevance, mere cannon fodder for cynics unable to keep their empathy down without a heaping spoonful of irony on the side.
And whereas, on the surface, "I Am Sam" might simply be a shameless push by New Line Cinema to capture a Best Actor nomination in these closing For Your Consideration moments (in that "A Beautiful Mind"/"Forrest Gump"/"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" mold), underneath it's a well written, excellently acted, and perceptively directed drama.
Yet unlike other actorly attempts to portray those with abnormal mental faculties – Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man , Sean Penn in I Am Sam – Hanks makes Forrest more than a collection of tics and mannerisms.
Writer and director Jessie Nelson (Corrina, Corrina) has fashioned a heart affecting drama that is wonderfully buoyed up by contemporary versions of Beatle hits.
Check this tooth-rot: She directed of Corrina, Corrina and cowrote Stepmom and The Story of Us.
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The most glaring is the annoying camera work of cinematographer Elliot Davis ("The Next Best Thing," "Out of Sight") under the direction of director Jessie Nelson ("Corrina, Corrina," co-writer of "The Story of Us" and "Stepmom").
Spiner played Data on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and has appeared in a number of films, including "Independence Day." Chao was a regular on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and has appeared in several films, including "What Dreams May Come."