“I am Sam” is the moving story of a Father and the love for his daughter, and the challenges that he has in demonstrating his ability to be a ‘proper’ father to her, despite his own limitations.
Sam, played by Sean Penn, is a mentally retarded father struggling to bring up his daughter on ... Read review
Sean Penn and Michelle Pheiffer give career-defining performances in this humorous and ... more
heartwarming story about a mentally challenged father who enlists the aid of a high-powered attorney to help him regain custody of his daughter.An all-star supportin...
Production Year: 1983 - Drama - Director: Jerry London - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: John Gielgud, Raf Vallone, Christopher Plummer, Gregory Peck
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Martin Brest - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Jake Weber, Claire Forlani, Jeffrey Tambor
“I am Sam” is the moving story of a Father and the love for his daughter, and the challenges that he has in demonstrating his ability to be a ‘proper’ father to her, despite his own limitations.
Sam, played by Sean Penn, is a mentally retarded father struggling to bring up his daughter on his own in less than what are normally considered ideal circumstances. Bordering on obsessive compulsive, and autistic, Sam earns a meagre income ... ...Lucy Diamond Dawson, (Played by the adorable Dakota Fanning, together with her younger sister Elle) to work with him.
Despite all the odds, Sam seems to do relatively well at fatherhood, although his daughter sleeps in the same room in the hammock she had since birth and he relies on their agoraphobic neighbour to help him out in the motherhood department. There is no denying that the love between father and daughter is incredibly ... more
“I am Sam” is the moving story of a Father and the love for his daughter, and the challenges that he has in demonstrating his ability to be a ‘proper’ father to her, despite his own limitations.
Sam, played by Sean Penn, is a mentally retarded father struggling to bring up his daughter on his own in less than what are normally considered ideal circumstances. Bordering on obsessive compulsive, and autistic, Sam earns a meagre income waiting on tables at Starbucks, even taking his young daughter Lucy Diamond Dawson, (Played by the adorable Dakota Fanning, together with her younger sister Elle) to work with him.
Despite all the odds, Sam seems to do relatively well at fatherhood, although his daughter sleeps in the same room in the hammock she had since birth and he relies on their agoraphobic neighbour to help him out in the motherhood department. There is no denying that the love between father and daughter is incredibly touching.
The scenes between them are both amusing and heartfelt; right from the moment Lucy was abandoned into the care of her father by her birth mother, to the after school moments when she was reading Green Eggs and Ham with her Father in a reversal of roles, from the age of five or six. However things start to go awry when social services step in because the school do not feel Lucy is continuing to learn.
The fundamental roadblock seems to be that as Lucy approaches seven, she does not want to overtake her beloved Daddy in the intelligence stakes and seems to refuse to want to learn any more, leading us to a moving scene where Penn pushes her to read a word he himself cannot understand. By the time of her seventh birthday, Lucy has began to deny her father at school, telling other kids she is adopted, and her fun birthday party laid on by her father is totally ruined when social services show up to take her into care.
Enter Michelle Pfeiffer who is a busy and stressed lawyer, with a straying husband and a seven year old boy of her own who she cannot seem to relate to; hence her own challenges with parenthood. As unlikely a client as Sam is; for her expensive practice; she ends up representing him free of charge, in his fight for the return of his daughter.
This movie has the ability to make you both laugh and cry. Some of the scenes between Lucy, her father and his supportive yet ‘retarded’ (to use the film’s term) friends are moving and represent real love and caring – the shoe shop scene for example! And many of the scenes involving his four best friends are guaranteed to tug at the heart strings.
But ultimately there is the utter despair as the case is not going to plan, despite Pfeiffer’s desperate attempts to coach her unusual witnesses and the inevitable taking into foster care and separation from her Father, who if nothing else can show you how much a Father can love his child, despite his own personal limitations.
Both Lucy and Sam show how much they are fighters in their own ways and in their determination to be reunited with each other, despite all the odds.
At age just six years old, Fanning plays a blinder in the role of Lucy and is guaranteed to win the audience over, and she has gone on to prove her ability in films since this one was made four years ago.
Both Penn and Pfeiffer are convincing and enjoyable to watch as their own friendships form, and even a high flying executive lawyer can learn a thing or two from the Customer Services Assistant from Starbucks with a mental age of seven.
What is guaranteed to bring on the tears when watching this movie (sorry guys) is the unconditional love that Sam has for others, in his black and white way of seeing the world and wanting it as simple as it can possibly be.
If it is a quiet night in and some good old fashioned love, then this move will provide that and will give two hours of entertainment and laughs which should not disappoint. Set within a background of Beatles trivia, that provides a seal for father and daughter’s bond. Funny, yet tragic, heartfelt and passionate; this film should provide 2 hours of enjoyable entertainment for most viewers.
Directed by Jessie Nelson, also known for the wonderful movie Stepmom and The Story of Us the film is runtime 132 minutes and rated 12.
Advantages: It has good morals and will hit your softspots Disadvantages: eerrrrrrr.....
Well I gotta say this is one heck of a film! I don’t think I can think of anything that was wrong with it or made me think “Man, you just messed up the movie”. I think the issues that were dealt with were serious factors that do exist in society today and cause unhappiness to many people and, unfortunately, satisfaction to others.
I enjoyed watching the characters in the film, especially Sam (Sean Penn) who never went wrong and knew how to conduct ... ...more than just a film. I can honestly say that all the characters in the film were inspirational and they all had something about them which contributed to the overall effect of mezmorization that a viewer encounters.
CHARACTERS
Sam Dawson – Sean Penn (Mystic River, 21 Grams)
A forty-three year old, California born, Oscar winning actor who isn’t afraid to speak his mind, plays the beautifully innocent role of Sam. First watch Sean in Mystic River ...
MissOpinion 28.06.2004 (29.06.2004)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of I Am Sam (DVD)
Advantages: Good storyline and excellent acting Disadvantages: You get wond up at the injustice
...against the legal system. I know this is a story, but how many children have been taken away from their loving parents just because the social services think they know what's best. Don't get me wrong, we need social services and we need them to be interested in the welfare of children, but they do make mistakes. The jacket of the film said it was going to be a tear jerker - I have to say I didn't cry, but I think it was because I was angry at the ... ...convincing. To be honest I had no idea he could act, I've always just looked on him as ex Mr Madonna! Michelle Pfeiffer was an excellent feisty lawyer and played the part well.
I thoroughly recommend this film, it's a film I shall certainly watch a second if not third time. It's got it all - emotion, drama and an excellent storyline. I bought my DVD from Virgin in a 5 DVD's for £30 offer and it was certainly worth the money. Please note that this ...
northern_lights 25.08.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of I Am Sam (DVD)
Advantages: A look in to the lives of disabled people Disadvantages: a few slow moving parts
...us are unaware of. I found the scenes when SAM interacted with his friends delightful. I also appreciated the love they also had for Lucy and how much they were willing to go through to help Sam get her back.
Dianne Wiest is great as “Annie”., the neighbor who has not left her home in over 20 years and goes to court to help SAM win back custody of Lucy.
Laura Dern was also excellent in her role as “Randy”, the foster mother who wanted to adopt ... ...tearjerker. When I left the theater and went into the ladies room, I know which women has seen the movie also. The ones with the tears in their eyes.
I just saw this movie again last night on DVD. I enjoyed it as much as I did when I saw it in the threatre and my opinion still remains the same. SEAN PENN definitely should have won the Oscar for Best Actor. He was incredible. Everyone should see this movie!! ...
CanadasCousin 09.07.2002 (15.07.2002)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of I Am Sam (DVD)
Advantages: Very evocative;; superb acting; wonderful story Disadvantages: Ending is perhaps just a little too optomistic in today's society.
...story. For this reason alone I would say it is worth buying the soundtrack.
The acting is superlative; Sean Penn perhaps gives us the best performance of his career and one that earns him an Oscar nomination. His portrayal of Sam shows us a combination of frustration and anger combined with a deep passion and love that transcends his inadequacies (or supposed inadequacies); his portrayal is simply perfect.
Michelle Pfeiffer is also very good in ... ...have. One thing I gained from the movie was an appreciation that there really shouldn’t be any differentiation between ‘them’ and ‘us’! Society has placed labels on each of us and we need to break away from this and realize that people are just people. We each have our own inadequacies that do not have labels! To summarize this I would say that this is a ‘weepy’ movie – this isn’t only for women, ...
Simoncook1 26.06.2002 (28.06.2002)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of I Am Sam (DVD)
Advantages: Funny heartwarming film Disadvantages: sad society we live in
I Am Sam is a film about a father with the mental age of a 7 year old.
Sam (Sean Penn) works serving coffee at Starbucks, and has befriended and given a home to a homeless girl. When she falls pregnant Sam is over the moon, but when the girl gives birth to the child, the mother flees as they are leaving the hospital, all she wanted was a place to stay.
Sam is a big Beatles fan and names the baby Lucy Diamond (Dakota Fanning). He arrives home with ... ...a recluse due to her own issues, helps Sam with Lucy. She shows him how to cope with a baby and advises Sam on what Lucy needs to be cared for correctly.
Sam loves life and always sees the best in people, he has a group of friends, who in the film are referred to as retarded, they believe strongly in helping each other, what seems to be important to them is that they are all there for each other and their fun nights together.
Lucy grows and all ...
herby30 20.08.2003 (22.08.2003)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of I Am Sam (DVD)
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to ...
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "I Am Sam (DVD)"
Advantages: great for everyone, good family entertainment Disadvantages: It can be on a long time, lucky its in two parts
proves the point "never work with children".
* The Magical Making of Merlin- scene index: *
This is split up into four parts: The magic begins, The production, The cast, The myth.
* The legend of Merlin: *
An interesting (10 page read) into the myth of Merlin. Searching for the existence of King Arthur in history. In 6th century Britain was a King Arthur who had an advisor, a possible Merlin. Many scholars believing Merlin to have been a Druid priest. I found this section very interesting as Iam a huge fan of Myths and legends.
************************
The actors
************************
"Spell bounding performances from an all-star international cast" (taken from the DVD)
Merlin (Sam Neill)
Queen Mab/Lady if the lake (Miranda Richardson)
Frick (Martin short)
Nimue (Isabella Rossellini)
Lord Vortigern (Rutger ...
wyvern9lb 15.06.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Merlin (DVD)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Emotionally effective....Fanning, in her first feature role, is charmingly earnest and positively luminous..." (Box Office, p.57, 01/01/2002)
"...Mr. Penn, with his usual discipline, burrows deep into Sam....You need only look into the actor's eyes to see how deeply he is committed to perceiving the world the way Sam does..." (New York Times, p.E19, 28/12/2001)
"...[Penn] gives a bold, heartfelt performance....[It's] a portrayal of stirring emotion and blunt truth..." (Rolling Stone, p.58, 31/01/2001)
"..[Fanning is] cute without being cutesy, smart without being smart-arsed, she's the bright eyed emotional heart of the film..." (Total Film, p.101, 01/05/2002)
DVD Description
Actor Sean Penn displays another facet of his versatility as the title character of this inspirational tearjerker--a mentally handicapped father fighting for custody of his young daughter (Dakota Fanning). The child welfare board of his native Santa Monica has taken her from him, worried that at eight years old she has already begun to pass him in intellectual development. Sam's argument is that it's not brains but love that counts, and his case is taken by a stressed-out hot shot lawyer named Rita (Michelle Pfeiffer) who has her own problems dealing with her rebellious son. Anchored by his infectious love of the Beatles, the ceaselessly enthusiastic Sam becomes a positive influence on Rita as he raises a lot of questions about what's most important as a parent. Though it's Penn's show, Pfeiffer is so good she practically steals the film from him, and the startlingly precocious Fanning is not far behind. A warm soundtrack of Beatles covers and clever, fast-cut editing help the message of love and forgiveness shine through.
![I Am Sam [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78519585.jpg)
![I Am Sam [DVD] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/77878814.jpg "I Am Sam [DVD] [2002]")
![I Am Sam [VHS] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/77902940.jpg "I Am Sam [VHS] [2002]")
![I Am Sam [DVD] [2002] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/81324863.jpg "I Am Sam [DVD] [2002] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]")
