I Am Sam

A heartwarming movie isn't suppose to make you agree with the opposing side to the main character, but I Am Sam did just that. Nobody will question the genuiness of Penn's character in his love for his daughter, but the story is an exploitation. A terribly sad and real world situation is exploited to make only the basic emotions matter in who is right. It's fitting that Beatles music is used to highlight the character's pain. Their music stands today as emotional filler in that love conquers all. Dante once wrote that love comes in both good and evil, but the Beatles allowed us to imagine it in just the purest form of good. Their accomplishment had nothing to do with insight. Even Sean Penn, who got an Oscar nomination for this role, does little that is good. The physically handicapped role is the preferred role for Oscar winners, but it's a success of physical mannerisms only. Actors focus so intensely in carrying the role with the physicality perfected that sight of the character is lost. Penn also isn't helped by a script that has more melodramatic scenes than any movie I can remember. Nothing in this movie resonated beyond just bad conventions.