Sam fails to capitalise on Penn's talents

I Am Sam tells the story of a single father Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), who raises a child after the homeless girl he made pregnant left right after delivery. And if that is not hard work enough, Sam has the intellect of a mere seven year-old.

Together with a bunch of odd pals, and his introverted pianist neighbour Annie (Diane Weist in a token, overacted role), they manage to raise Lucy (an amazingly natural seven-year-old Dakota Fanning) until Sam’s parenting ability comes into suspect by the Department of Children and Family Services’ Margaret Calgrove (Loretta Devine).

Enter Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer), a high-powered, overachieving city lawyer who takes on Sam’s case on a pro-bono basis to prove to her colleagues she ain’t a heartless bitch. And so the hearings begin, they adjourn and they continue and we yawn, as we know we’ve seen it all before.

What starts as a promising premise about the challenges of an alternative family structure spirals into a manipulative and contrived mess of bad logic and melodrama. While we do not doubt Sam’s unquestioned love for Lucy and the tenacity of the human spirit, child-raising does seem a little out of his reach.

The film’s probably just about made bearable because of the two leads. Penn’s performance is heartfelt. And Pfeiffer does her best to transform her one-dimensional character from a self-centred perfectionist, to a wife and mother who discovers her own humanity. But in the end, everything seems too pat and all too convenient.