I Am Sam (2001) on Netflix
Sam Dawson, a man with an intellectual disability, raises his daughter Lucy on his own. When Lucy turns seven and social services step in, lawyer Rita Harrison takes his custody case.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.6/10163,611 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes36%
Trailer
Plot summary
Sam Dawson, who has an intellectual disability, works at a coffee shop and is devoted to the Beatles; he names his daughter Lucy Diamond after one of their songs. Lucy's mother, a homeless woman, leaves them once the baby comes home from the hospital, so Sam raises the girl with help from his friends and from Annie, his agoraphobic neighbor. By the time Lucy is seven, she has outgrown him mentally; classmates tease her, and she holds back at school so she will not seem smarter than her father. Child welfare officials question whether Sam can raise her, and he asks Rita Harrison, a well-paid lawyer consumed by her work and distant from her own son, to represent him. She takes the case without a fee.
Cast
- Joseph Rosenbergas Joe
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about I Am Sam (2001)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film launched the careers of Dakota Fanning and her younger sister Elle, then seven and almost three years old, and Dakota became the youngest person ever nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
- The soundtrack was meant to use the Beatles' original recordings, but when producers could not obtain the rights they commissioned cover versions from artists including the Black Crowes, Nick Cave, Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan and Rufus Wainwright.
- Jessie Nelson and co-writer Kristine Johnson researched the problems facing adults with intellectual disabilities by visiting the non-profit organization L.A. GOAL, and subsequently cast two actors with disabilities, Brad Silverman and Joe Rosenberg, in key roles.
- Penn's brother Michael Penn appears on the Grammy Award-nominated soundtrack in a duet with his wife Aimee Mann, alongside original music by John Powell.
