I Am Sam (2001)

A mentally retarded man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.

Director:

Jessie Nelson

Writers:

Kristine Johnson, Jessie Nelson

Stars:

Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Penn	...	Sam Dawson
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Rita Harrison Williams
Dakota Fanning	...	Lucy Diamond Dawson
Dianne Wiest	...	Annie Cassell
Loretta Devine	...	Margaret Calgrove
Richard Schiff	...	Mr. Turner
Laura Dern	...	Randy Carpenter
Brad Silverman	...	Brad (as Brad Allan Silverman)
Joseph Rosenberg	...	Joe
Stanley DeSantis	...	Robert
Doug Hutchison	...	Ifty
Rosalind Chao	...	Lily
Ken Jenkins	...	Judge Philip McNeily
Wendy Phillips	...	Miss Wright
Mason Lucero	...	Conner Rhodes

Storyline

Sam Dawson has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old. He works at a Starbucks and is obsessed with the Beatles. He has a daughter with a homeless woman; she abandons them as soon as they leave the hospital. He names his daughter Lucy Diamond (after the Beatles song), and raises her. But as she reaches age 7 herself, Sam's limitations start to become a problem at school; she's intentionally holding back to avoid looking smarter than him. The authorities take her away, and Sam shames high-priced lawyer Rita Harrison into taking his case pro bono. In the process, he teaches her a great deal about love, and whether it's really all you need.

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Plot Keywords:

love | lawyer | the beatles | custody | school | 

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Taglines:

love is all you need

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema [us] NZZ Online - Neue Zürcher Zeitung (German)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Yo soy Sam

Filming Locations:

Echo Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£151,079 (UK) (10 May 2002)

Gross:

£456,635 (UK) (24 May 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Avery Pix, Bedford Falls Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dakota Fanning has a disabled aunt in real life.

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Goofs

In the first courtroom scene, the judge asks to see Sam back in court on January 5th, supposedly a month after that day. However, the board of cases for the day says the date is August 20th.

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Quotes

Sam: OK, remember when Paul McCartney wrote the song "Michelle" and then he only wrote the first part, Annie said. And then he gave that part to John Lennon, and he wrote the part that said, "I love you, I love you, I love you." And Annie said that it wouldn't have been the same song without that... and that's why the whole world cried when the Beatles broke up on April 10, 1970.

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Connections

Featured in What Makes Fido Run? (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes appear courtesy of V2 Records

User Reviews

The Greatest Film I've Ever Seen

I Am Sam is one of, if not the best, motion picture of all time.

I Am Sam is about a retarded man named Sam (Sean Penn) who has a mental capacity of a 7-year old. He works as a server at Starbucks, is obsessed with The Beatles, and loves IHOP. After he accidentally has a daughter (Dakota Fanning) with a homeless woman who he names after the song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. The woman leaves him, and Sam is left to care for Lucy by himself. However, when Lucy intentionally begins to hold back in school to prevent becoming smarter from her father, child protective services takes her away and Sam must fight to obtain custody. He befriends a lawyer, Rita (Michelle Pfeiffer) with a bad marriage and a son who she thinks hates her. Together, Sam and Rita fight for Lucy's custody in a heartwrenching roller coaster of tears, laughs, and the overwhelming power of human spirit.

This is all beside some of the most stunning performances I've ever seen in a film. Sean Penn is top of his game and gives an amazingly realistic performance as a disabled man without a single flaw. To this day it makes me furious he didn't win the Oscar. Dakota Fanning's premiere role is by far her greatest ever, and at only six years old opened the eyes of actresses who've been in the business for years and basically screamed into their faces "This is how acting is done." And Michelle Pfeiffer delivers a phenomenal, incredibly realistic performance that will absolutely take your breath away.

As the film progresses, you will find yourself laughing one minute, crying the next (you WILL cry no matter how mature or old you are, so make sure you have tissues), the next moment tapping your foot along to the familiar Beatles tunes found throughout the movie (even though they're covers) and the next moment simply staring at the screen not believing your eyes and ears at how emotionally powerful a film can be.

And after watching, you won't want to ever give the DVD back to Blockbuster. If you don't at least give this movie a chance, you will truly be missing out on one of the shiniest gems of modern cinema ever.