THE MOVIE

Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) is a mentally disabled man who, after somehow getting a homeless woman pregnant, raises his daughter, Lucy Diamond Dawson (Dakota Fanning) by himself, when Lucy’s mother deserts him as soon as they leave the hospital.

Thankfully Sam hasn’t had to do it alone. He’s had the help of his concerned neighbour, Annie (Dianne Wiest) and a group of extraordinary friends, including Brad (Brad Silverman), Joe (Joseph Rosenberg), Robert (Stanley DeSantis) and Ifty (Doug Hutchison).

Seven years quickly pass and it soon becomes evident that Lucy’s mental capacity now exceeds that of Sam’s. After several unfortunate incidents, the Department of Child and Family Services investigates, and finds that it is not in the best interests of Lucy to remain with Sam. She is taken away from him and Sam is only granted two visits a week. So Sam decides to get a lawyer. He approaches a cold-hearted high powered lawyer called Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer). She initially wants no part of it, but ends up taking on the case when her lawyer friends mock her because she doesn’t do pro bono cases. Together they must fight to prove that Sam is indeed capable of raising his daughter.

I Am Sam also stars Richard Schiff, Laura Dern and Mary Steenburgen. It was written by Kristine Johnson and Jessie Nelson, who also directed this film. Finally, just a word of warning, you might want to have some tissues on standby.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

I Am Sam is a wonderfully interesting film in terms of the visuals, there are some really cool sequences in this film, such as the time transition during chapter 4 (12.05 minutes) as well as the scene where Sam and his friends cross the street (16.55 minutes). The Beatles feature quite prominently in this film, and this scene is reminiscent of the 'Abbey Road' album cover where John, Paul, Ringo and George can be seen on the zebra crossing. The editing is also excellent, one great scene occurs in the court room during chapter 16 (89.40 minutes). Editor Richard Chew has used some really dizzying cuts to effectively communicate Sam’s confused state of mind.

I Am Sam is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen and it is also 16:9 enhanced. This is a great transfer with excellent detail, the close up shots of Michelle Pfeiffer during chapter 9 (46 minutes) are wonderful, as are the close up shots of the picture Dakota Fanning is painting during chapter 17 (93.45 minutes). This transfer does have some minor film grain, this stood out during the slow motion scene at the diner during chapter 6 (28.40 minutes). There was also some minor aliasing, but this wasn’t overly distracting. This is a dual layer (RSDL) disc, but I couldn’t spot the layer change.

The colours in this film are wonderfully rich and vibrant, for example the bright pinks worn by Lucy and the green Starbucks apron often worn by Sam. Blue is another colour used quite extensively in this film, many scenes have a bluish look about them, for example the medical room in chapter 1 (3.00 minutes) and the court room in chapter 16 (85.00 minutes).

Audio:

This film comes with four soundtracks, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack, a DTS 5.1 channel soundtrack and a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtrack, along with an audio commentary (also Dolby Digital 2.0 channel). I listened to the Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack, which is pretty good. There are a number of subtle background sound effects to be heard in this film. The rear channels fire up very early in the film. You can hear a rather interesting array of streetscape sounds starting at 2.29 minutes (chapter 1), including a car horn, construction sounds, a police whistle, etc.

The music by John Powell is also very good, and can be heard quite prominently in the rear channels. The musical soundtrack also features a number of classic Beatles songs, which have been covered by artists such as Sheryl Crow, Eddie Veder, Ben Harper, Ben Folds, The Wallflowers, The Black Crowes and Sarah McLachlan. Low frequency output is quite good, but not overwhelming. Although, it does seem to improve noticeably after the 90 minute mark. Dialogue is also clear and highly intelligible during all parts of the film. I didn’t observe any audio synch glitches either.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary
The audio commentary features director/writer Jessie Nelson. She has a lot to say and there are very few quiet moments during this two hour film. She talks about carrying out research at a centre for disabled people and actually using two actors with disabilities in the film. Sean Penn’s performance and his improvisation are also considered, and she talks about how he worked with the two disabled actors to get them to improvise as well. Interestingly, child actor Dakota Fanning actually has a mentally disabled aunt and Jessie Nelson believes this helped with her role as Sam’s daughter. The different bands involved in covering the various Beatles songs used in the film are discussed and Jessie Nelson also reveals a few technical aspects about the shoot, such as using multiple cameras to enable the editor to make fast cuts during the court room scenes.

Original Documentary: Becoming Sam
Selecting this option loads a submenu where you can choose from various topics; The Inspiration and Research, Casting The Film, Creating the Characters, Look and Feel of the Film, Producing the Soundtrack and Final Moments. These topics are separated into discrete chapters, but there is also a ‘Play All’ feature. Total running time is around 42 minutes.

This documentary includes interviews with writer/director Jessie Nelson, co-writer Kristine Johnson, producers Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz and Richard Solomon, as well as actors Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laura Dern, Dakota Fanning and Richard Schiff. The documentary considers the amount of research that went into the film. Costume designer Susie Desanto talks about dressing Sam and Rita, and director of photography Elliot Davis talks about colours and trying to convey the feeling of seeing the world through Sam’s eyes. The soundtrack and the numerous Beatles songs used in the film are also considered.

Deleted/Alternate Scenes
Here you’ll find seven deleted/alternate scenes, which can be viewed with or without commentary by Jessie Nelson. Unfortunately there is no ‘Play All’ feature. All scenes are presented in 1.85:1 widescreen (albeit with somewhat reduced visual quality). Interestingly, all scenes come with Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound. Total Running time is around 11 minutes.

Theatrical Press Kit
Textual information can be found in here, about the film (around 28 pages of production notes), about the cast (biographies for Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laura Dern, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Richard Schiff, etc) and about the filmmakers (director Jessie Nelson, co-writer Kristine Johnson, director of photography Elliot Davis, etc).

Trailer
The theatrical trailer runs for 2.12 minutes. Unfortunately it is presented in 1.33:1 full frame (4:3) but it does come with a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. A great trailer with great sound and a surprisingly good visual transfer.

SUMMARY

I Am Sam stars Sean Penn as mentally challenged man who must fight for the right to retain custody of his seven year old daughter Lucy. The film also stars Michelle Pfeiffer as the cold-hearted lawyer that agrees to take on the case to save face with her judgemental colleagues, and Dakota Fanning as Lucy. Sean Penn delivers a stunning performance, as does Dakota Fanning. This DVD has a great visual and audio transfer, and it also comes with a number of interesting extra features.