I Am Sam [Blu-ray]

Director: Jessie Nelson, Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine, Michelle Pfeiffer, Richard Schiff, Sean Penn, Dakota Fanning

Overview

Sean Penn stars in this drama as Sam Dawson, a developmentally disabled adult who has been working at a coffee shop and raising his daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning) for seven years. Sam receives help in his parenting duties from a circle of trusted confidantes, including his ADD-afflicted best friend Ifty (Doug Hutchison), the paranoid Robert (Stanley DeSantis), an agoraphobic neighbor (Dianne Wiest), and his other disabled pals, Brad and Joe (played by real-life developmentally challenged actors Brad Silverman and Joseph Rosenberg). Although he provides a structured and loving environment for Lucy that includes regular visits to IHOP, video nights, and karaoke, Sam's daughter is beginning to surpass him in mental acuity. When Lucy begins intentionally stunting her own growth so as not to hurt her beloved father, social worker Margaret (Loretta Devine) takes action, removing the girl from her home and placing her in the temporary care of a foster mother, Randy (Laura Dern). As the day of his hearing looms, Sam seeks out the aid of driven, obsessive lawyer Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer), who takes the case only to prove to her colleagues that she is willing to accept pro bono work. Opposed by county lawyer Turner (Richard Schiff) in court, Rita gradually comes to care for her client and his daughter, even as they force her to consider the limitations of her own abilities as a parent. The soundtrack for I Am Sam (2001) gained considerable critical attention, consisting entirely of Beatles cover songs by such contemporary artists as The Black Crowes, Eddie Vedder, the Wallflowers, and Aimee Mann, among others.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/06/2010
UPC:	0065935837770
Original Release:	2001
Source:	Ais
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:00:00
Sales rank:	36,282

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sean Penn	Sam Dawson
Michelle Pfeiffer	Rita Harrison
Dakota Fanning	Lucy Dawson,Vice Cop,34-Month-Old Lucy
Dianne Wiest	Annie
Loretta Devine	Margaret Calgrove
Richard Schiff	Turner
Laura Dern	Randy Carpenter
Brad Allan Silverman	Brad,Brad
Joseph Rosenberg	Joe
Stanley DeSantis	Robert
Ken Jenkins	Judge McNeily
Doug Hutchison	Ifty
Rosalind Chao	Lily
Doug Hutchinson	Actor
Wendy Phillips	Miss Wright
Mason Lucerno	Conner Rhodes
Scott Paulin	Duncan Rhodes
Bobby Cooper	George
Kit McDonough	Ms. Davis
Kimberly Scott	Gertie
Michael B. Silver	Dr. Jaslow
Caroline Keenan	Rebecca
Eileen Ryan	Estelle
Mary Steenburgen	Dr. Blake
Marin Hinkle	Patricia
Chase MacKenzie Bebak	Willy
Rafer Weigel	Bruce
Emiko Parise	Nurse
Pamela Dunlap	Grace
Brent Spiner	Shoe Salesman
David Nathan Schwartz	Principal
Kathleen Robertson	Big Boy Waitress
Karen Bankhead	Rita's Colleague
Janet Adderley	Obnoxious Mom
Katie McGloin	Cristina
Steven Maines	Collin
David Poynter	Cafeteria Worker
R.D. Call	Cop at Park
John Paizis	Starbucks Father
Russ Fega	Starbucks Angry Man
Erinn Seaghda Rive Goletz	Starbucks Barrister
Julie Claire	Starbucks Customer
Marnie Martin	Starbucks Woman
Tony Abatemarco	Court Clerk
Will Wallace	Bill Carpenter
Scott Weintraub	Scarecrow
Nicholas Mele	Booking Cop
Brian Bialick	Brian
Molly Gordon	Callie
Nora Kroopf	Sara
Allison Thormahlen	Infant Lucy,Infant Lucy
Ryan Williams	6-Month-Old Lucy
Felicity Ann Forbes	18-Month-Old Lucy,18-Month-Old Lucy
Amanda Lehaf	4-Year-Old Lucy
Mason Lucero	Conner Rhodes
Michael McElroy	Actor
John Lennon	Composer
Paul McCartney	Composer

Technical Credits

Jessie Nelson

Kristine Johnson

Jessie Nelson	Screenwriter,Producer
Kristine Johnson	Screenwriter
Marshall Herskovitz	Producer
David Scott Rubin	Executive Producer,Executive Producer,Producer
Claire Rudnick Polstein	Executive Producer,Producer
Richard Solomon	Producer
Edward Zwick	Producer
Michael De Luca	Producer
Lisa Demaine	Producer
Douglas Axtell	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

For a film that's waterlogged in bathos, it features a brilliant performance from the ever-versatile and surprising Sean Penn, who is a shocker not just for the technical achievement of his role but for the warmth he injects into it. Maybe it's real-life fatherhood, but the actor exhibits a depth of soul previously absent from his already stellar work, putting him into a league where he could conceivably play just about anyone. On the whole, however, the project comes up short, gorging itself on sentiment, its calculatedly twee preciousness finally overwhelming one's desire to like it. There is a dissonance here between the great acting of Penn, Dianne Wiest, and young Dakota Fanning, who display Oscar-caliber talents, and the style and tone of director Jessie Nelson, whose craft employs all of the nuance and grace of a Lifetime Original Movie. That's not to say that the film lacks emotional impact, but the obviousness and desperation of the filmmakers' manipulation provoke tears that are not cathartic, but bitter and resentful. Serious questions are asked, but never really answered, and the weary civil servants who ask them in an effort to do their important jobs are treated as heavies. Michelle Pfeiffer is handed a one-note role, her problematic husband is never even glimpsed, robbing her of the sort of conflict necessary to reveal more about her character. The director's predilection for handheld camera work, presumably to impart upon the viewer a sense of the protagonist's confused disorientation, only serves to leave the film's cross-eyed audience reaching for the Dramamine when combined with the director's taste for numerous close-ups. And audiences will likely be split on the use of developmentally disabled characters to serve as a literal comic relief peanut gallery. The production team has attempted to dodge any criticism of this hackneyed ploy by utilizing real-life developmentally challenged actors in some of these supporting roles, but it doesn't mean that the way they're presented by the script is any less exploitative. The subtlety born of good taste would have gone a long way toward making I Am Sam a more worthy, meaningful, and memorable effort.