I Am Sam

I Am Sam (stylized i am sam) is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with an intellectual disability, Dakota Fanning as his bright and inquisitive daughter, and Michelle Pfeiffer as his lawyer. Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine, Richard Schiff, and Laura Dern appear in supporting roles.

Jessie Nelson and Kristine Johnson, who co-wrote the screenplay, researched the issues facing adults with intellectual disabilities by visiting the non-profit organization L.A. GOAL (Greater Opportunities for the Advanced Living). They subsequently cast two actors with disabilities, Brad Silverman and Joe Rosenberg, in key roles.

For his new role as Sam, Penn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002. The film launched the career of child actress Dakota Fanning, who was then seven years old and had only acted in two small roles. She became the youngest actress to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. The movie's title is derived from the opening lines "I am Sam / Sam I am" of the book Green Eggs and Ham, which is read in the movie. The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics.

Plot
Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), a man with an intellectual disability, is the single father of Lucy (Dakota Fanning), following their abandonment by her mother, who is revealed to be a homeless woman. Sam is well-adjusted and has a supportive group of friends with disabilities, as well as a kind, agoraphobic neighbor Annie (Dianne Wiest) who takes care of Lucy when Sam cannot. Though Sam provides a loving place for precocious Lucy, she soon surpasses his mental ability.

Other children bully her for having an intellectually-disabled father, and she becomes too embarrassed to accept that she is more advanced than he is. In danger of losing custody, Sam gets advice from his friends and also hires a lawyer, Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer), whose complete absorption in her work and neglect of her son reveal her to be at least as handicapped as Sam is, although in a socially-acceptable way. In an attempt to prove to others that she is not cold, Rita agrees to take on Sam's case pro bono. As they work together to secure Sam's rights, Sam helps Rita see her own life, anew. This includes encouraging her to leave her philandering husband and repair her fractious relationship with her son. She and Sam have a moment together when they reveal that they never feel good enough.

At the trial, Sam cries. Afterwards, Lucy resides in a foster home with Randy Carpenter (Laura Dern) but tries to convince Sam to help her run away. She continually escapes in the middle of the night to go to his apartment, though he immediately returns her. However, the foster parents decide not to adopt her as they had planned and return her to Sam. Randy assures him that she will tell the judge (Ken Jenkins) Sam is the better parent for Lucy. In turn, Sam asks Randy if she will help him raise Lucy, because he feels she needs a mother figure.

The final scene depicts a soccer game, in which Sam referees and Lucy participates as a player. In attendance are Lucy's former foster family, Sam's friendship group, and a newly single Rita with her son.

Cast

 * Sean Penn as Samuel John "Sam" Dawson
 * Michelle Pfeiffer as Rita Harrison Williams
 * Dakota Fanning as Lucy Diamond Dawson
 * Allison and Jillian Thormahlen as infant Lucy
 * Ryan Williams as 6 month old Lucy
 * Felicity Ann and Makindra Sherry Forbes as 18 month old Lucy
 * Elle Fanning as 2 year old Lucy
 * Amanda Lehaf as 4 year old Lucy
 * Dianne Wiest as Annie Cassell
 * Loretta Devine as Margaret Calgrove
 * Richard Schiff as Mr. Turner
 * Laura Dern as Miranda "Randy" Carpenter
 * Marin Hinkle as Patricia
 * Stanley DeSantis as Robert
 * Brad Silverman as Brad
 * Doug Hutchison as Ifty
 * Rosalind Chao as Lily
 * Ken Jenkins as Judge Philip McNeily
 * Wendy Phillips as Miss Wright
 * Scott Paulin as Duncan Rhodes
 * Kimberly Scott as Gertie
 * Michael B. Silver as Dr. Jaslow
 * Eileen Ryan as Estelle
 * Mary Steenburgen as Dr. Blake

Critical reception
The film received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, I Am Sam holds a rating of 35% based on 144 reviews, with an average rating of 4.64/10. The site's consensus reads: "Not only does the manipulative I Am Sam oversimplify a complex issue, it drowns it in treacle." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 28% based on 33 reviews.

The New York Times wrote that "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." Variety wrote: "Undone by its best intentions, I Am Sam is an especially insipid example of the Hollywood message movie". The Chicago Sun-Times wrote that "every device of the movie's art is designed to convince us Lucy must stay with Sam, but common sense makes it impossible to go the distance with the premise." Roger Ebert also criticized the morality tale character of the movie, saying that "you can't have heroes and villains when the wrong side is making the best sense."

On the other hand, the Los Angeles Times reviewed it positively as a "most inviting and accessible film that turns upon a mental condition that most people would prefer not to think about." The San Francisco Chronicle commended Sean Penn for his performance: "Penn's accuracy, his lack of condescension or sentiment, and his willingness to inhabit his character without any implicit commentary take what might have been the equivalent of an inflated TV movie and elevate it to the level of art." The New Yorker, however, found Michelle Pfeiffer to be the standout: "Pfeiffer, enormously likable in the role, almost saves the movie."

Awards and honors
Sean Penn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor (the Oscar), the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor and the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.

Dakota Fanning won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer, the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Youth in Film, the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Youth Actress, the Satellite Special Achievement Award for Outstanding New Talent, and the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actress Age Ten or Under. She was also nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

The soundtrack was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

The film won the inaugural Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild of America, and was nominated for the Humanitas Prize and the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film.

Soundtrack
The Grammy Award-nominated soundtrack, in addition to a John Powell score, also has cover versions of songs by the Beatles. Penn commissioned artists such as the Black Crowes, Nick Cave, Stereophonics, Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Rufus Wainwright, the Wallflowers, Ben Harper, the Vines and Ben Folds, to cover the songs for the soundtrack. Penn's brother, Michael Penn, is also featured on a duet with his wife Aimee Mann.

As the movie was shot and produced to the original Beatles music, the artists had to record their covers to the same musical timing (tempo) as that of the Beatles' original pieces.