Release Date: December 28, 2001
Starring: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfieffer, Laura Dern, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest
Directed by: Jessie Nelson
Written by: Kristine Johnson, Jessie Nelson
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (language)
"Love is all you need." Those words, of course, come to us from singing legend John Lennon, but they're also theme (and one of the most emotional lines of dialogue) of I Am Sam, a wonderfully acted, heartwarming drama that powerfully displays love in the family.
I Am Sam is basically Rain Man meets Kramer vs. Kramer (coincidentally, two Best Picture-winning films starring Dustin Hoffman) with almost the same amount of emotion from both. It follows the story of Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), a developmentally disabled man who raises a daughter, Lucy (newcomer Dakota Fanning). Lucy's mother is no good -- she left Sam almost minutes after giving birth -- and so it's just the two of them. With a job as a janitor at Starbucks and the mental capacity of a 7-year-old, it becomes apparent that Sam cannot raise Lucy on his own. But when a social services officer wants to take Lucy away, he shames a hotshot lawyer (Michelle Pfeiffer) into taking the case to regain custody of his daughter.
1988's Rain Man is probably one of the most popular films about a mentally disabled adult, and Sam comes pretty close to telling just as touching a story. If you're familiar with Dustin Hoffman's character in that movie, it's hard not to see the resemblance between Raymond Babbit and Sam Dawson and his equally disabled friends (some of whom are actually played by mentally handicapped actors).
Luckily, Sean Penn plays Sam as flawlessly as Dustin Hoffman did Raymond. It gets to the point where the viewer won't remember he's watching an accomplished actor instead of a truly disabled individual, and that is certainly something to admire. Reportedly, Penn and writer Kristine Johnson both spent ninety days in an institute for the developmentally disabled, much like Jack Nicholson did in researching his Oscar-winning role for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Given that much, it's similarly amazing that Penn didn't even steal the whole show -- costars Dakota Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer both gave praise-worthy performances equal to Penn's. Fanning has only appeared in small television roles, but the child actress's talent in this role will remove any doubt that she will be a very accomplished actor later in life. She, like Penn, is so natural that she turns the movie into a real-life relationship between a disabled father and his quickly developing daughter. Michelle Pfeiffer may also have one of the best perfomances of her career here as an arrogent, selfish lawyer who learns from Sam what love truly is.
Director Jessie Nelson (who wrote the script for both The Story of Us and Stepmom) proves herself as well. Her jerky camera movement gives us the same look into Sam's world that he would have at ours. There are frequent zoom cuts, and nearly every shot is handheld, creating the same confusing yet playful view of what's going on. With her guidance and the emotional script, the actors have little reason not to do as well as they did. Furthermore, she knew that you can never go wrong with a soundtrack filled with Beatles covers.
Lest I get carried away, I should mention that it's not much of a surprise that Nelson has few other films on her resume, because the movie's overall direction had a feeling of inexperience. Also, the similarity between it and past dramas with comparable stories doesn't give it the freshness it needs to have in order to be as powerful as it she wants it to be. Still, these may be the only reasons the film won't sweep any awards ceremonies.
Some may even call it a glorified movie of the week from the Lifetime channel, but there's little wrong with I Am Sam to go that far. Though it bears strong similarities to other family dramas with disabled people, it doesn't fail to entertain and provides the same genuine emotions -- a can't-miss combination when it comes to making movies today.
all contents © 2002 Andy Zientek