i haven not be a fan of sean penn since fast time at ridgemont high . since that time and nearly all his film have leave me flat . in fact and i nearly do not watch this film since he be in it . what a loss it would have be if i would miss it . i would not go into the story line since that be review a lot by others . the story be sort of a cliché would one and have be do before and though not as well . the story isn not this film strength anyway it the act . rarely have i see a film with this much powerful act . penn performance a sam be brilliant . he must have study autistic or mentally challenged people to pull this performance off . i also want to mention how good michele pfeiffer be in this . her character start out a a hard hearted witch and end up be very human and thanks to her exposure to sam . the change in her be gradual and subtle and fun to watch . sams friend and very well play by brad silverman and joseph rosenberg and stanley desantis and doug hutchinson be very important support character . laura dern give a stellar performance a randy . dakota fanning a lucy very nearly steal the show . this little actress have quite a career ahead of her and i hope . this film be delicately balance and and have a good bit of humor intersperse with part that will have even the most insensitive of you reach for a tissue . the film have a sort of a sappy ( and somewhat surprising ) outcome and but by this time any other end would have be pretty much unacceptable to most people . this movie blow me away and i give it a 9 .