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I Am Sam
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam convinces high-priced lawyer Rita to take his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.
2001 · Directed by Jessie Nelson · 132 min · Drama · Screenplay in the scene database · 12 frames
Tagline
Love is all you need.
Plot
In 1993, Sam Dawson, a Starbucks barista with an intellectual disability, becomes the single father of Lucy Diamond Dawson, named after the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", following her abandonment by her mother, a homeless woman with whom Sam had sex, who had no interest in having her. Sam is well-adjusted and has a supportive group of friends with disabilities as well as a kind, agoraphobic neighbor, Annie, who takes care of Lucy when Sam cannot.
Seven years later, in 2001, Sam provides a loving place for precocious Lucy, though she soon surpasses his mental capacity and ability. Other children bully her for having an intellectually disabled father, and she becomes too embarrassed to accept that she is more intelligent than he is.
In danger of losing child custody, Sam gets advice from his friends and also hires the lawyer Rita Harrison, whose absorption in her work, and neglect of her son Willie, reveals she also struggles with her role as a parent. In an attempt to prove that she is not cold, Rita agrees to take on Sam's case pro bono. As they work to secure Sam's rights, Sam helps Rita see her own life anew. This includes encouraging her to leave her philandering husband and repair her fractious relationship with her son.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Jessie Nelson, Kristine Johnson
- Cinematography: Elliot Davis
- Edited by: Richard Chew
- Music: John Powell
- Production design: Aaron Osborne
- Produced by: Jessie Nelson, Richard Solomon, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz
Cast
- Sean Penn as Sam Dawson
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Rita Harrison Williams
- Dianne Wiest as Annie Cassell
- Dakota Fanning as Lucy Diamond Dawson
- Richard Schiff as Mr. Turner
- Loretta Devine as Margaret Calgrove
- Marin Hinkle as Patricia
- Laura Dern as Randy Carpenter
- Brad Silverman as Brad
- Joseph Rosenberg as Joe
Production
- Country: United States of America, Germany
- Language: English
- Studios: New Line Cinema, Bedford Falls Productions, Red Fish, Blue Fish Films, "Sam" Productions
- Budget: $22,000,000
- Box office: $92,542,418
- Themes: mentally disabled, foster parents, lawyer, pro bono, social services, coffee shop manager, pizza hut, children's book, locked door, child custody
More by Jessie Nelson
On this film
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