I Am Sam Page #2

Synopsis: I Am Sam (stylized i am sam) is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with a developmental disability, Dakota Fanning as his inquisitive daughter, and Michelle Pfeiffer as his lawyer. Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine, Richard Schiff and Laura Dern appear in supporting roles. Jessie Nelson and Kristine Johnson, who co-wrote the screenplay, researched the issues facing adults with intellectual disabilities by visiting the non-profit organization L.A. GOAL (Greater Opportunities for the Advanced Living). They subsequently cast two actors with disabilities, Brad Silverman and Joe Rosenberg, in key roles.
Genre: Drama
Production: New Line Cinema
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 10 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.6
Metacritic:
28
Rotten Tomatoes:
35%
PG-13
Year:
2001
132 min
$40,270,895
Website
2,368 Views


SAM:

Didn't you just fall asleep, little

girl?

(Lucy cries harder)

Okay, if you say it's time to get up,

then it's time to get up, time to get

up.

(Sam sniffs the air)

Oh my, oh my, oh my. Quite a bit of

business.

He rushes over to the kitchen counter and unsnaps the baby's

pajamas, revealing a cloth diaper held together with

promotional buttons: one says "Hertz, #1 for Car Rentals",

the other a picture of Magic Johnson and reads "Go, Lakers,

Go!" Sam undoes it.

SAM (CONT'D)

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Let me

see let me see let me see.

Sam attempts to clean and diaper her. He finally manages to

pin the buttons so that it at least stays on.

SAM (CONT'D)

You look very beautiful this morning,

very beautiful.

He holds her up, and the diaper falls down around her ankles.

CUT TO:

We pan across a row of diapers on a supermarket shelf:

HUGGIES, PAMPERS, EXTRA ABSORBENT PAMPERS, LUVS...

INT. WALMART - DAY

Sam stares at the "Great Wall of Diapers", awed. He reaches

for the Pampers, balancing Lucy, then the Luvs, no, the

Huggies. Sam stops moving, Lucy starts CRYING, so he jogs in

place. Sam decides on one of each. He heads to the FORMULA

AISLE. Gerber, Carnation, Carnation Iron Fortified. He

stops. Lucy WAILS. WE HEAR THE SONG "HELP, I NEED SOMEBODY"

INT. SAM'S APARTMENT - 9 P.M.

Sam paces, carrying Lucy who screams at the top of her lungs.

INT. SAM'S APARTMENT - 11:25 P.M.

Sam rocks the CRYING BABY in the hammock. He's exhausted,

but she's just getting started. He puts another blanket on

her.

INT. SAM'S APARTMENT - 1:30 A.M.

Peace. A punch-drunk Sam lays the sleeping baby into the

cradle as if she were a bomb that might detonate.

He tiptoes, his FIST raised victoriously - "YES!" He doesn't

get two steps before Lucy wakes screaming. Defeated, he

picks her up. HELP. The PHONE RINGS. HE PRESSES speaker.

RASPY WOMAN (O.S.)

What the hell are you doing to that

baby?!

He looks out his window and sees ANNIE CASSELL, his neighbor

on the phone, watching him through her window. She is a

strange creature with very thick glasses. We sense a

uniquely profound intelligence behind all that armor.

SAM:

Everything's so tiny, tiny. Tiny.

Everything. Won't you please come over?

Help. I need somebody. Won't you

please please help me.

ANNIE:

You know I can't do that. What does her

mother say?

Rate this script:3.0 / 1 vote

Kristine Johnson

Kristine Johnson (born June 5, 1972, in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines), is a co-anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City, New York, on the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts with Maurice DuBois. more…

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