I Am Sam is a rare case where its a film purely driven by a performance and a decent story and everything else fails on a film making level yet I still enjoyed it. This film seems to have got lost in the shuffle, no one really talks about it and when I Am Sam is mentioned it is usually because of the stellar performance by Sean Penn. It also does not help that around the same time A Beautiful Mind was released and dominated the box office and won Best Picture. So is I Am Sam a good film on its own?
I Am Sam is a very good film and one that is very easy to get lost in, Sean Penn puts in an astounding performance as Sam Dawson and at times you forget that Penn is acting which could be seen as a negative but I found it fascinating. Its a shame that the film making on display is awful, I understand that it can be seen as a reflection of Sam's state of mind but at points it does become distracting with the camera constantly zooming in and out.
This is truly a film that is about performances and other than Penn, Dakota Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer also put in top quality performances although none of them can touch that of Penn's. Every character feels real and all the characters are well written which is fundamental to a film with this subject matter. Its hard to really talk about the story without ruining it and with the hidden gem reviews I want new viewers to go in fully blind to enjoy this film.
I Am Sam is a film that over time will start to grow on people but as of now it seems to have got lost amidst other performance driven films of that era and especially A Beautiful Mind. I am usually against films that have poor cinematography but this is a rare example of where the story, characters and performances all work together to make a really special film that needs to be recognised more. Do check this one out, its a really decent film that is not remembered as well as it probably should be.
8/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
No comments:
Post a Comment