MOVIE REVIEW: I Am Sam (2001)

Perhaps it went by relatively unknown by my generation, but I Am Sam got some interesting attention when 2008's Tropic Thunder came out, on the topic of overly-melodramatic portrayals of individuals with mental handicaps. Curious about it's story, I checked it out and was pleased by the performances and overall charm exuded by the story. But not so much about some other things.

Sam Dawson is an barista at Starbucks, diagnosed with the intellectual capacity of a seven year-old, but is known for having a big heart and encyclopedic knowledge about The Beatles. He has somehow fathered a daughter with a woman who abandons her, immediatly after childbirth. Lucy Diamond Dawson grows into a healthy, intelligent child, but one who is unsure and insecure of the world around her, because of her parent's disability holding her confidence back. When Lucy is finally apprehended by Child Protection Services, Sam enlists the aid of icy lawyer Rita Harrison, who agrees to take his case pro bono as a step towards her own desire to be seen in a more charitable light. Rita teaches Sam the poise and strength required in a cruel society, Sam teaches Rita the value of love and family, both want to win back Lucy.

There are moments in I Am Sam that are truly touching, and it bothers me, because underneath some of the inexplicabilites of the film's logic, I sense there's a really good movie. For starters, there are a lot of holes in the backstory of Sean Penn's character; I felt incredibly questioned how Sam even happened to father a child. Given his intellectual capacity, Sam appears to be extraordinarily high functioning, but not at a level that appears realistic. How does he manage to hold down a job, an apartment, and adequately raise a child for six-to-seven years in his condition without some form of consistent assistance (and I'm not talking about Lucy's godmother, or Sam's equally handicapped friends)? These were areas of the film I felt were incredibly lacking in clarification, and bothered me throughout.

On the other hand, the care taken to realize other aspects of the film is phenomenal. Sean Penn is fantastic, engaging, and completely believable in his role. Same goes for Michelle Pfeiffer and Dakota Fanning, who plays his daughter. The cinematography and editing are also great, and really draw you into Sam's occasional states of confusion and overstimulation in a world he is still trying to understand, as much as his daughter is. While the film hits the right emotional notes, it's treatment of factual material seems like fantasy at best. I only wish the writers took some time to embellish on the grittier topics some more, so that the rest of us wondering about the origins of Sean Penn's character didn't feel left in the dust.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon