This document provides a movie diagnosis review of "I Am Sam" which portrays a middle-aged man named Sam living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It summarizes Sam's symptoms such as rigid routines and pragmatic language difficulties. It also compares Sam's portrayal to the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5.
What is the condition of Sam from the movie I Am Sam?
The film focuses on the title character of Sam (Penn), an adult man with autism who is struggling to raise his 7 year daughter Lucy (Fanning) on his own.
Keir Gilchrist, the actor who plays Sam in Atypical, is not on the spectrum. However, there are other cast members that are. In part of the show, Sam has a peer support group that consists of 8 actors with autism.
Answer & Explanation. In the movie I am Sam, Sam has considerable intellectual disabilities and is unable to serve coffee or take the bus regularly. This doesn't stop him from practically raising a child on his own until she attain the age of seven (his mental age) and "outlives" him.
I Am Sam (2001) - A Good Parent Scene (8/9) | Movieclips
Was I Am Sam autistic?
Document Information. This document provides a movie diagnosis review of "I Am Sam" which portrays a middle-aged man named Sam living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It summarizes Sam's symptoms such as rigid routines and pragmatic language difficulties.
I am Sam is a movie about a mentally challenged man, named Sam, striving to raise his daughter, Lucy, alone. Diagnosed with Autism, Sam's intellectual capacity cannot exceed the age of 7.
After having a one-night stand with a woman, Sam becomes the single father of a little girl (Dakota Fanning, Man on Fire). (The girl is named Lucy Diamond Dawson, after the Beatles' song.) The woman abandons the two immediately after the girl's birth and disappears. Thus, Sam is left to raise Lucy by himself.
Sam's revelation on the show was a culmination of his journey that began earlier this year. Diagnosed with ADHD and autism after a series of tests documented in the Channel 4 special, “Is This ADHD?”, Sam's disclosure on the show marked a pivotal moment in his public life.
Raymond Babbitt, played by Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rain Man, is perhaps the most famous character on the autism spectrum. He is a savant who has an incredible memory and is able to perform complex calculations in his head. His portrayal of autism helped to raise awareness of the disorder.
Sam exhibits several characteristics of ASD which are manifested in his communication, behaviors, and social interactions throughout the movie. In preparing for his role in 'I Am Sam', the actor, Sean Penn spent many hours listening to the different prosodic abnormalities of individuals with ASD.
Plot. In 1993, Sam Dawson, a Starbucks barista with an intellectual disability, becomes the single father of Lucy Diamond Dawson, named after the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", following their abandonment by her mother, a homeless woman with whom Sam had a sexual encounter.
The lesson "I Am Sam" wants to teach us is, "All you need is love." This is not quite strictly true. Sam loves his daughter more than anyone else, and she loves him, but it will take more than love for him to see her through grade school and adolescence and out into the world.
The beautiful actress confirmed reports that the sex scene between their characters Rita Harrison and Sam Dawson had been left on the cutting room floor - which she blames on nervous male movie executives.
First, let's look at Sam as a "good dad." Even though Sam has a very low intelligence level (that of a seven year old), Sam is both well-rounded and well-adjusted. He loves his daughter and is willing to take care of her even after the homeless woman who is Lucy's mother refuses.
Sam is also a father. And he has raised his little girl (named Lucy Diamond after the Beatles song) alone for seven years, ever since her mother ran away days after her birth. You wouldn't think he could do it, the diapers, the feedings, the potty-training. But he does.
I am Sam is a movie about a mentally disabled man trying to get custody of his child. I thought the movie was incredibly moving and heartwarming. There are some emotionally intense scenes when Sam and his daughter are being forced apart, and some scenes in the court room that are intense during the custody hearing.
They take Lucy away from Sam. Sam meets a rich lawyer named Rita Harrison, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. He's inspired to hire her by the Beatles song about “lovely Rita, meter maid” and because her last name is Harrison, like the Beatle guitarist George Harrison, but Rita the lawyer wants nothing to do with Sam's case.
An intellectually disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.
It is a myth that all autistic people have an intellectual disability. The truth is that 2/3 of people on the spectrum have average or above-average IQs. It is also a myth that IQ scores obtained when autistic children are aged two and three are valid baselines that can be used to measure treatment progress.
Great, incredibly moving movie. Starts off slowly, and confusingly, but gets better and better, and more emotional, as it goes on. Ending feels a bit rushed, but that would be the only criticism. Sean Penn gives a superb performance as the mentally challenged Sam.
