I Am Sam

I am Sam is a movie about a developmentally challenged father raising his 7 year old daughter. Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) had the mental capacity of a 7 year old and he has been raising his daughter, Lucy (Dakota Fanning) all on his own. Sam is a nice guy who tries very hard and learns. He has a huge capacity for love. You cry, he hugs you. Lucy is small and bright and full of love. No matter how terrible it seemed, she always loves her father and she didn’t want anyone else.

One day, Sam was approached by a prostitute and because he didn’t know better, Sam almost went with her. A policeman saw them and took Sam to the police station. They knew it wasn’t his fault, so they let him go. However, there was a Social Services officer at the station. After seeing Sam, she thought something should be done because he seemed incapable of raising a child.

On the day of Lucy’s 7^th birthday, Sam decided to throw a surprise party for her. Sadly, the officer came to took her away. There was some drama. The judge then ruled that Sam gets visiting rights, twice a week.

Sam, then, found himself a lawyer who drove herself into a corner and had no choice but to work for him pro bono. They try to come up with a witness list that can help Sam out. These witnesses included Sam’s best friends who are similarly challenged and some other people that can help.

All the while, Lucy was placed under foster care. She didn’t like it at all, obviously. Sam and his lawyer, they tried so hard. All he wanted was to give her love. He just wanted his child and she wanted her father. This whole movie is very raw and basic. It’s about love and friendship. That’s it, nothing else. It’s not clouded with anything else.

There is one part when the opposition attorney, Mr. Turner (Richard Schiff who played Toby in The West Wing [mama will appreciate that]) asked Sam if he thinks he can raise Lucy. Sam quoted a Beatles song; Paul McCartney wrote the first verse and handed it over to John Lennon to write the rest. Lennon wrote, “I love you, I love you, I love you.” That’s what you need, Sam said. That’s what you need.

Also, Mr. Turner asked Sam if he could provide Lucy with everything she needs as she grows up. Sam said no, he couldn’t give Lucy everything. He wants to but can’t. It’s important that I mention now just how stressed Sam was feeling by this time. He was being bombarded with questions from this almost hostile lawyer and Sam felt overwhelmed. He was afraid and overwhelmed.

I think Mr. Turner was trying to prove that Sam, who had the capacity of a 7 year old, was incapable of raising a child. He was trying to prove that she could get everything she needed, somewhere else.

Here’s what I think: Sam was right. He cannot give Lucy everything she needs. But then again, no one can. No one can give their child the best school, the best toys, the best food the best care and the best everything else, all at the same time. It’s impossible. Every parent wants that for their child but they just can’t do it. They can try but it’s unlikely that they can give everything. And Sam is just like every other parent, in that aspect. Are you telling me you’re going to drag all the other families to court too on these ground?

Anyway, Sam reached a point where he almost gave up. Lucy seemed ok with her foster family and he felt hopeless. But his lawyer, Rita Williams (Michele Pfieffer) got his hopes up. She helped him get a job he can enjoy (dog walker). Things started to look fine, until the foster family decided to try and adopt Lucy.

Sam decided to move closer to Lucy because he missed her and also taking the bus really wasted a lot of time. So, he bought an apartment nearby. Lucy found out about this while selling Girl Scout Cookies in the neighbourhood and started sneaking out of her room. She would walk to her father’s apartment. Sam, surprised as he was, didn’t keep her. He didn’t let her stay there nor did he take her away some place far. Instead, he took her back to her foster family. This became some sort of a routine until the family decided to fix bars on Lucy’s windows (nice ones).

Her foster mother told her that she only had to ask if she wanted to see her father. Any time, any day, she could see her father. They would take her.

The foster family wanted to prove to the court that they could provide her with the kind of love that she has never had before. They change their minds, however, when they see just how much Lucy and Sam love each other. They see just how much they need each other to survive. Lucy already has that kind of love and nothing can replace it.

This movie didn’t exactly get very great reviews but I think it’s a great movie. Yes, it’s kind of sappy and predictable but it’s a happy ending that we all want to see. Also, some people say this movie is  "Undone by its best intentions, I Am Sam is an especially insipid example of the Hollywood message movie.” I think it is, but I also think that there’s nothing wrong with that. I love message movies. They’re great.

I cried so much during this movie. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I watched ‘I’m Not Stupid 2’ and ‘Pay It Forward’. But this time, this time I actually cried. By cried, I mean sobs: real sobs and tears and heaving of breath. I was a mess!

This movie, the actors and the ‘predictable’ storyline was all well choreographed. I loved it. I cried throughout almost the entire movie. The entire movie!

Scenes I cried at the most:

• Sam was reading a book to Lucy, something her teacher gave her. He was having difficulty with some words. Lucy ended up saying she didn’t want to listen to that story and asked Sam to read his favourite book instead, Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

• Sam learns that Lucy is holding herself back in school because she doesn’t want to be intellectually superior to her father. He gets her to read that hard book. She stops at the word ‘difficult’ (the same word he has trouble with) and pretended not to know it. He then said to her, “I’m your father and I'm telling you to read the word.” He knew he had to push her and eventually, she read it to him. “I like to hear you read. It's makes me happy to hear you read.”

• In the cafeteria, Sam wanted to pay for lunch. His lawyer tried to say no. She said he didn’t have to. She said he didn’t have to pay for lunch just to seem more grown up. He became understandably upset. He told her that she thought they thought (they being the Child and Family Services). She tried to say that what she thought didn’t matter in court but Sam said it mattered to him

• Sam and Lucy in the bus. Lucy conned the social service officer and her father too. She took him on a bus ride and they stayed on the bus and then got down at a park far away. Just the two of them.

• When Sam took the stand.

• When Sam had given up. He stayed in his old apartment, making origami. Rita shows up and tires to talk to him. Sam says that she doesn’t know what it’s like to keep trying and trying and trying and never get there. She was born perfect but he was born like that. People like her didn’t know what it’s like to be hurt. Boy, did she give him a wake up call. She said he wasn’t the only one. People like her feel lost and small and ugly and dispensable. People like her have a son who hates her (not really la, just not a good relationship). She cried and he hugged her.

• When Sam and Lucy were hugging and the officers had to pull them apart.

Sean Penn played his part very well and so did the young Dakota Fanning. She received many awards for her role in this movie. This movie was great. I would watch it again and again.

p.s: I actually wrote this out on Microsoft Word. A whole different thing. But my computer decided to restart itself without my permission just before I clicked the save button. Also, the Autorecovery thing doesn't seem to be working. So, I had to rewrite this from scratch. I don't like this version as much as I liked the first. Sadly, I can't get it back. This will have to do. It was hard to rewrite this, especially when my head was throbbing with anger. Seriously, I just want to stab this PC. I'm trying to concentrate here, HELLO!

:)