I Am Sam (2001)

Sean Penn is a man with an intellectual disability, raising his seven year old daughter Dakota Fanning, who due to plot contrivances is suddenly forced to prove his worthiness as a parent. Though my Oscars dedication meant I had to check out Penn’s performance, I had long avoided watching this film. It was both better than and as bad as I had feared. Penn’s performance is dedicated and sincere, but it still feels like just a performance. Michelle Pfeiffer, as the hardened lawyer who has a change of heart, is just one big trope of a character. The film requires the viewer to mostly ignore the first seven years of fatherhood where he would have had to somehow afford formula and diapers when he later struggles to buy his daughter a single pair of shoes , where he receives state assistance and at some point registered his daughter for school but no legal entity questioned his parenting fitness until he got arrested for simply talking to a prostitute. Fanning is the film’s high-point. She gives an exceptionally mature performance for such a young age and there’s a real sweetness to her interactions with Penn.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role