I Am Sam (2001)

Name: I Am Sam
Released: 2001
Rating: 7.7
Cast: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianne Wiest, Dakota Fanning, Richard Schiff

• Movies, Drama

• 132 min

7.5

Love is all you need.

Directed by: Jessie Nelson
Casting: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianne Wiest, Dakota Fanning, Richard Schiff, Loretta Devine, Marin Hinkle, Laura Dern, Brad Silverman, Joseph Rosenberg, Stanley DeSantis, Doug Hutchison, Bobby Cooper, Mary Steenburgen, Eileen Ryan, Michael B. Silver, Rosalind Chao, Ken Jenkins, Wendy Phillips, Mason Lucero, Scott Paulin, Kit McDonough, Kimberly Scott, Chase MacKenzie Bebak, Rafer Weigel, Emiko Parise, Pamela Dunlap, Brent Spiner, David Nathan Schwartz, Kathleen Robertson, Karen Bankhead, Janet Adderley, Katie McGloin, Steven Maines, Dennis Fanning, David Poynter, R. D. Call, Elle Fanning, Russ Fega, Molly Gordon
Countries: United States of America
Premiere: 2001-12-28
Status: Released

Tags: mentally disabled, foster parents, lawyer, pro bono, social services, coffee shop manager, pizza hut, children's book, locked door, child custody, woman director, father daughter relationship, neurodiversity

Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam convinces high-priced lawyer Rita to take his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.