i am sam

Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting through my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

As much as I would rather continue using John Lennon’s words to describe my experience with this movie, I should actually put down my own thoughts. I Am Sam is a story of limited individuals having to acknowledge those limitations and allowing others to help make up the difference.  

That’s the impersonal description. 

The personal upheaval description is that it's a movie that throws into question what makes a good parent or even more probing, what are our beliefs regarding the worth of a human being.  I felt the whole gamut of emotions, not the least being the scrutiny of my own parenting abilities.  When the film ended, having gone through the wringer, I came out clean and clear. An affirming movie, now and then, is good laundry. 

This is hands down my favorite Sean Penn performance and I believed him for the entire film. Dianne Wiest, Dakota Fanning and Laura Dern were right there with him in talent and performance levels. I wasn’t as enamored with Michelle Pfeiffer and it took me a long time to warm up to her portrayal.

What I was enamored with was all the Beatles references and songs. Although, I would have loved it more if the Beatles did the singing. I was also pleasantly surprised with the Star Trek sightings—Brent Spiner, Ken Jenkins and Rosalind Chao!