I Am Sam

Starring: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Laura Dern, Loretta Devine, Richard Schiff, Doug Hutchinson
Directed by: Jessie Nelson
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A mentally disabled man (Sean Penn) fights for the right to parent his daughter (Dakota Fanning), whom the court has taken away, as it sees him to be an unfit father.

Review:

Tim: I am a bit surprised that I really hated I Am Sam. I typically like these dramatic, feel-good movies about people overcoming adversity. However, I simply could not get into the story. I didn't particularly like the characters, and despite some obvious strengths, I found the movie to be a far-too-long bore. I'm not so convinced in my own opinion that I'd attack people for liking this movie, but I personally didn't care for this film at all. That perplexes me a bit, because I typically do enjoy these movies.

The main focus of this movie is on the performance of Sean Penn. Penn certainly is believable as a mentally handicapped man trying to raise a daughter with his limited IQ. Penn received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, so that suggests how strong of a performance he gives. Penn is certainly impressive- his performance is believable, never slipping into a caricature of mentally disabled people. However, I just felt like too often strayed into the over-the-top. His performance felt like he was pandering to the Academy- a little too much of the, "Hey, look at me, I'm playing a good-natured guy with mental issues!" I admit I might be reading into that a little much, but something about Penn's performance just turned me off. His performance was realistic, but it needed more subtlety. It just felt like Penn was a little too smug and a little too aware of his own impressive acting ability. That was a big reason I didn't like this movie as much as I should have.

The supporting cast is pretty good. Dakota Fanning gives a remarkable performance. There's no telling where her career will go- good or bad- but she's certainly one of the greatest child actors of all time. She is really, really strong in this film. Michelle Pfeiffer is very good as well, although I didn't love her character. Pfeiffer doesn't get enough work in Hollywood, so it was nice to see her have a meaty role here. She gives a good performance, and works well opposite of Penn. Dianne Weist was fine. Laura Dern has a few strong moments throughout the film. For the most part, while I did not care for the film, I appreciated the strong performances of the cast.

One aspect of the film I very much disliked was the 132 minute run time. Asking audiences to sit through this drama for well over 2 hours is absolutely crazy. This might have been better with a shorter time frame, because as is, it just feels like a bloated, self-congratulatory mess. We really needed to spend this much time on the story? This movie was more than a chore to sit through. I really struggled to stay focus and engaged for the whole film. That's a very bad sign.

While I admit that my strong distaste for this movie is a bit surprising, even to me, I also believe that this film is highly overrated. Critics looked at the subject matter- a mentally disabled man fights for the right to raise his daughter, and immediately saw Oscar glory. Penn gets to play a mentally disabled father? Wow, this is exactly the type of movie we need to make to appear sensitive and altruistic and inclusive. This is a movie you're supposed to like, simply by the nature of its subject matter. While it was handled appropriately, the whole thing feels inauthentic to me. I just did not track with the story or the motivations behind it. There was a little too much glee in Penn's portrayal of a handicap that many, many people struggle with throughout their entire lives.

If I talk to someone that loved I Am Sam, I just generally nod my head. Their reasons are typically sound, and I'm not going to rail against them. This movie doesn't really anger me or anything like that- I mostly just felt bored and disconnected from the story and the emotions I should have been feeling. I think people love this movie because they are supposed to, not because they really do. It doesn't surprise me that this film was only nominated for one Academy Award. While Penn gives a good performance, I'm really glad he did not win. I just did not connect with this movie in any way, and I really struggled to sit through it. I'm surprised so many people like this film, because I strongly did not.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



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