I Am Sam

7.4

37,931

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Original title: I Am Sam
Year: 2001
Running time: 132 min.
Country: United States
Director: Jessie Nelson
Screenwriter: Jessie Nelson, Kristine Johnson
Music: John Powell
Cinematography: Elliot Davis
Cast: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laura Dern, Dianne Wiest, Dakota Fanning, Joseph Rosenberg, Richard Schiff, Loretta Devine, Elle Fanning, Kathleen Robertson, Doug Hutchison, Mary Steenburgen, Rosalind Chao, Marin HinkleSee 4 More
Producer: New Line Cinema
Genre: Drama | Disability. Family Relationships. Courtroom Drama / Lawyers
Synopsis: Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) is a developmentally disabled adult who has been singularly raising his daughter, Lucy for all of her seven years. Sam provides a fun and loving environment for Lucy, but it soon becomes apparent that she is intellectually surpassing him. When she begins intentionally stunting her own growth so as not to hurt her beloved father, a social worker intervenes, removing Lucy from her home and placing her in foster care. It is now up to the courts to decide if Sam is fit to continue raising Lucy. As the day of the hearing looms, Sam seeks the aid of self-absorbed, successful lawyer Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer), who only agrees to take on Sam's case free of charge to save face with her colleagues. And so it begins: a battle of love versus ability, the individual against an unbending system. In the centre remains a father and daughter who just want to be together.

Awards: 2001: 1 Academy Award Nominee: Best Actor (Sean Penn)

2001: Critics' Choice Awards: Best Young Actor/Actress (Dakota Fanning). 2 Nominations

2001: Screen Actors Guild (SAG): Nom. Best Actor (Penn) & Sup. Actress (Fanning)

2002: Academy Awards (Oscars). 1 nomination

2001: Satellite Awards. 1 nomination

2002: Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG). 2 nominations

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Critics' reviews

"'I Am Sam'' is not a bad movie, and its intentions are unimpeachable. But its sentimentality is so relentless and its narrative so predictable that the life is very nearly squeezed out of it."

A. O. Scott: The New York Times
"Contrived, manipulative and shamelessly sentimental, this film is notable for the courageous reach of Sean Penn, who gives a bold, heartfelt performance"

Peter Travers: Rolling Stone
"Sean Penn does as well as can be expected with Sam, but it is painful to see an actor of his fire and range locked into a narrow range of emotional and intellectual responses (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"It works magic because of Penn, who disappears into the character so thoroughly that even Dustin Hoffman ... would be jealous."

Lou Lumenick: New York Post
"Undone by its best intentions, I Am Sam is an especially insipid example of the Hollywood message movie."

Robert Koehler: Variety
"Raises important issues about the mental handicapped and nontraditional families that deserve a much smarter examination."

Kirk Honeycutt: The Hollywood Reporter
"A well-intentioned but ludicrous tale."

Rita Kempley: The Washington Post
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Ranking Lists Position

21 My Top 10 Movies from 2001 (150)
37 Most Moving Movies (108)
65 My Favorite Dramas (188)
65 Movies with a Great Male Lead (69)
66 Movies that Don't Seem that Special but are Very Special to Me (56)

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