I Am Sam
...one actor or actress blows them away with a mind-hindering performance. After the debut of I am Sam, the wonderfully complex character Sam Dawson (Penn) revives the principles of acting with a fresh taste of humanity and growth.
Dawson, a mentally handicapped father with the mentality of a 6-year-old, is desperately clinging onto custody of his daughter Lucy, played by Dakota Fanning. A social worker in fear of Lucy's ability to surpass her father intellectually in the next few years, threatens to put her into foster care. Through the help of a self-indulged lawyer, Rita Harrison (Pfieffer), who takes Sam's case pro-bono to revive her money-hungry image, the almost irreversible fate of a father and daughter's bond is tested to their last might. The relationship that unfolds between Sam and Rita grows into a learning lesson of love tested from different.
Sam personifies the ideal nurturing father who is there as a constant force to listen and remain patient, while Rita justifies her career success to cover up the collapsing bond between her son and unfaithful husband. As Rita strengthens Sam's will to remain strong in the battle for his position as a father, Sam states the obvious lessons of living happily to pick-up Rita' pieces of shattered expectations off the floor.
Sam has the innocent knowledge of a child unhindered by lies, deceit and success, which reminds the audience of the true child-like spirit of being young at heart. It is the simple answers, simple lessons and simple dreams that are often overlooked by social status and self-indulgence that Sam reveals with his character.
The soundtrack is a new, fresh act of expression, tying in the timeless music of The Beatles and the ageless ideal that "all you need is love."
Throughout the movie, Sam looks at John Lennon as a success story that reminds him to test himself and surpass others'...
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