I AM SAM

 

FOUR STARS - INSPIRING

 

 

       Inherent in “I Am Sam” is the attempt to describe what it means to be human.  Like the Biblical answer God gave to Moses at the burning bush in which he described himself simply as “I am,” the core of our being is impossible to describe.  If we, like Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), had to stand trial to defend who we are and what we are capable of being, the justice system has no method for exoneration.  We are only imprisoned in the impotence of its process.  To truly describe a human being the language of love is the only means and love is obviously not the language of the courts.  This truth is compellingly experienced by viewing Jessie Nelson’s film, “I Am Sam.”

       An unlikely scenario is created when Sam gives shelter to a homeless woman whom he impregnates.  Giving birth to their daughter, the woman abandons them and Sam is left to raise her alone.  With the help of a band of friends with a bouquet of emotional and mental handicaps, he is able to succeed.   The love and consistency he provides creates a moment in which Lucy (Dakota Fanning) tells him he is “not like other dads.”  Embarrassed, he asks her what she means and she says, “No other fathers come to the park to play.”

       This ability to be child-like and join Lucy in mutual play and reading Dr. Seuss is sufficient during her preschool years, but when Lucy turns six, their lives enter the system with public education and child protection agencies.  It is then that Sam’s competency to raise a child is called into question.

       Due in part to Lucy’s own struggle to be accepted by her peers when she sees the way they mock Sam as a retarded person, Lucy is taken from him by the system and a hearing is held to prove his incompetence.  It is then that Sam engages the help of Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer) as his lawyer.

       Masterfully comparing the empty life of Rita to Sam’s full life of love, the film show Rita to be a prisoner of her own intelligence and education as she sacrifices her relationship with her own son to succeed professional and financially.  Presented as a grid by which we evaluate who is truly competent in their relationship with their child, the inability of the court hearing to capture that truth is all the more evident.

       When a foster family attempts to provide Lucy with a new home, it becomes clear that the love Sam provides is a source of identity and strength for his young daughter.  But it also becomes clear that such love must create a community of persons within whose shared love and guidance Lucy can live if she is to become all she is created to be.

       “I Am Sam” helps us understand that the essence of our humanity is nurtured within communities of love.  When we come together not in accusatory legal maneuvers but in mutual loving interdependence, then even the most fragile among us are safe and nurtured to full and productive lives.