I am Sam is a movie featuring Sean Penn as Sam, who is cast as an adult male with the learning capacity of a 7 year old with autistic tendencies. Degrees of Severity of Mental Retardation 5-Axis Diagnosis 318.0 Moderate Mental Retardation 317 Mild Mental Retardation 318.1 Severe Mental Retardation IQ level 50-55 to approx. In the movie “I am Sam”, Sean Penn (Sam) played a role of autistic father who faces difficulties in bringing up his daughter, Lucy Diamond Dawson (Dakota Fanning) because of his mental disabilities. I am Sam is a movie about a mentally challenged man, named Sam, striving to raise his daughter, Lucy, alone. Through a series of events, the courts find him incapable of being able to properly raise a child, and remove the child from his custody and into foster care. I recently watched a sneak preview of “I am Sam". The movie shows a man, named Sam, who has the intelligence of a seven year old child. The movie was released in the year 2001 and written and directed by Jessie Nelson. The first film that I watched was I am Sam. Diagnosed with Autism, Sam’s intellectual capacity cannot exceed the age of 7. I chose the movie I am Sam to challenge my own opinion on how people with disabilities should be treated under certain circumstances. It's a story of a man with mental retardation with the mental capacity of a seven year old, with a seven year daughter. Although, Sam has some development disabilities he is able to work and still take care of his daughter. But you still agonize over whether he can do it alone. Sam is a man with a mental age of 7 who is well adjusted and has a great support system consisting of four similarly developmentally disabled men. I Am Sam has truly got to be one of my favorite movies. Sam … Critical Analysis of 'I Am Sam' Introduction The paper presents a critical review on the disability shown in the movie, 'I am Sam', and also how the disability depicts in the movie. Should Sam be allowed to continue raising Lucy? Sam Dawson's main symptom, that is mentioned in the film, is that his cognitively ability and his daily functions is that of a 7-year-old. A lot. Movie Setting and Story I am Sam is a drama family film that rotates around the life of Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) who has the mental capacity of a 7-year old. The events unfold and the court makes its decisions and the lives of the characters go on. The synopsis of the story is a developmentally disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter (www.imdb.com). The main issue of the movie was that the main character Sam has an Intellectual disability and he is struggling to take care of his daughter. His neighbor Annie (Dianne Wiest), a piano-player and agoraphobe, befriends Sam and takes care of Lucy when Sam can't. This movie gives as accurate a portrayal as you will ever find of a parent with a disability caught in the legal and social service systems. Every device of the movie's art is designed to convince us Lucy must stay with Sam, but common sense makes it impossible to go the distance with the premise. I am Sam is a film starring the very talented Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Dakota Fanning. It focuses on a diversity issue that is overlooked in society today. 70 This group represents about 85% of "I Am Sam" Challenges Notions of Competence and Family Review by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express January 23, 2002. "I Am Sam" is aimed at audiences who will relate to the heart-tugging relationship between Sam and Lucy (and young Dakota Fanning does a convincing job as the bright daughter). 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