Review of I Am Sam (2014) by Mike S — 11 Dec 2010

Were I to be a cynical critic, I might have entitled this film as "Sean Penn goes Oscar-fishing". And sure, that may be true to some extent. But it wouldn't really be fair to it, as his acting is actually quite tremendous.

Playing someone who is mentally handicapped can't be an easy job to take on, yet he does so convincingly and with grace. It was also nice to see Michelle Pfeiffer again in a somewhat newly produced film.

Last movie I saw her in was Stardust, and that was almost three years ago. The award for best performance though, goes without question to Dakota Fanning. She is really adorable as the daughter of Sean Penn's character, and gives absolute proof of why she's one of our time's greatest child actors (or more correctly was, as she's a teenager by now).

Anyhow, the story does tends to lean a bit towards pretentiousness, and I cringed now and then at the thick layer of sentimentality. But it's got a lot of heart, no doubt, and had me quite moved at the end by its great human warmth.

A film about parenting, love and society's prejudice against the mentally challenged. Too blemished and melodramatic to reach greatness, but certainly worth the investment of your time and emotions.