(Rated M) Reviewed by Emma Stars: Sean Penn Michelle Pfeiffer Dakota Fanning Official Site Story: Sam (Sean Penn) is a mentally retarded guy who is raising his 7 year old daughter alone. When social services take his daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning), he enlists the help of a fast-paced, self involved lawyer, Rita (played by Michelle Pfeiffer). Rita, whose own family life is falling apart due to her hectic work schedule, only agrees to help Sam, in order to save face in front of her work colleagues. Also fighting to adopt Lucy are her new foster parents. Critique Sean Penn was fantabulous as Sam. He bought a mixture of innocence and wisdom beyond the character�s IQ to this role. In my opinion this was the best work I�ve seen from Michelle Pfeiffer since Grease 2! In all seriousness she was terrific � probably got duped for an Oscar nomination too! She played extremes of her character to perfection. From the hard nosed attorney who makes her assistant cry to herself crying when realising the extent of Sam and Lucy�s love for each other, when she herself struggles in her relationship with her son. Lucy is played by Dakota Fanning and she too was great. Accompanied by a terrific supporting cast with Dianne Wiest, Toby from the West Wing, Mary Steenburgen, Laura Dern and the group of guys who play Sam�s friends added for some well timed comedic relief. So in a nutshell, the acting was all top notch. The story seemed a bit lacking in places. I�m not sure if I felt that the best place for Lucy was with Sam. Certainly all the characters were sympathetic enough which lead to quite a touching movie. The best thing about this movie � the soundtrack. All Beatles songs my friends!!! The soundtrack contains the Beatles songs sung by the likes of Sheryl Crow, Ben Folds, Ben Harper and Eddie Vedder. It�s a chick flick so take your girlfriend or go with your mum. Score 7/10 |
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| I AM SAM |