Review of I Am Sam (2014) by Arth J — 31 Aug 2018

Claiming the title of being an actor..

I Am Sam.

I Am Sam is a plot driven family drama about a mentally handicapped father whose daughter is considered to be taken into a foster home.

Armed with such potential and considerably explored by the filmmakers in many ways, it offers expectations with such huge cast. As much as honest and pathos its ideology is, the methods that it adapts to draw in the emotions out from the viewers is pure manipulation.

The plot track wanders in without any whatsoever connection or logic and visits pointless places for more than two hours. As it ages on screen, there is neither sincerity, mannerism and maturity in script to breed any aspects of the feature appropriately.

The screenplay is so naive and inedible that viewers cringe on seat as the makers attempt to attain a closure of their self-created destructive bubble. The primary reason why it doesn't work is its futile constant knack for drawing out a chuckle and its shallow script that it surfs through the entire feature.

Penn's riveting performance is genuinely moving, to a point where it carries off the entire tale on merit and makes it worth surviving for the viewers. As much as brilliant Penn is, Pfeiffer couldn't be more distracted whilst Fanning shows some promising skills. The background score is pointless with immature camera work and daft and questionable cinematography.

The screenwriter and director Nelson not only possess sloppy writing skills with incoherent forcibly imputed sequences but also lacks execution skills which is demoted by its confused camera work. Penn is the only high point of the feature as it elevates the momentum as much as he can.

I Am Sam is Penn claiming the title of being an actor, and it aches to encounter such a talent go waste by on something so fatuous.