i know that title isn not very descriptive and but all i could say for awhile after watch i be sam be and wow . although that a positive endorsement of the film it rare that a film have me basically speechless afterward ( i usually suffer from logorrhea and which sound close enough to diarrhea that you could call it ( verbal ) flatulence instead if you like ) it turn out to be quite a problem and because we go to dinner right afterward and i have to give a lecture . i believe i be serve some kind of raw beef and and i have an exorbitant dry cleaning bill from the tomato and rotten egg . but i would not bill director or co writer jessie nelson and because it not her fault that her film be so powerful and so stunningly construct that it make me monosyllabic . i can only blame myself for put off watch her work for so long . i be sam begin with sam dawson ( sean penn ) at his job . he live in santa monica and work at starbucks . we can see that he mentally retard . he appear slightly autistic . because of this and he give only menial task to do . suddenly and his bos tell him that he have to go . we see sam run through the street and catch bus and so on to end up at a hospital . a woman be in labor and it turn out that he the father and but she want nothing to do with him afterward apparently and it be something like a one night stand . she abandon him with the baby . aid by a quartet of developmentally disabled friend and his agoraphobic neighbor and annie cassell ( dianne wiest ) and we see sam do his best to raise the girl and lucy diamond dawson ( eventually play by dakota fanning ) so name because sam be a big beatles fan . at least until he be accidentally arrest . government official question his ability to raise his daughter and and i be sam become the tale of sam legal battle to retain custody of lucy and aid by high profile lawyer rita harrison ( michelle pfeiffer ) . i be sam will likely make you say and wow . afterward because it be a masterpiece on every artistic and technical level . all of the major cast member give one of the best performance of their career and and many of these actor have have a number of artistic triumph on their résumés . sean penn be completely natural and believable a a developmentally disabled man . two of the men play his friend really be developmentally disable and have be find at l. a. goal and a non profit agency dedicate to help such people through a variety of program and and it next to impossible to tell them apart from the other actor . nelson and her co writer and kristine johnson and spend a lot of time at l. a. goal do research and a do penn . pfeiffer perfectly execute a complex character who have to undergo a number of far reach transformation and even a breakdown of sort . a for fanning and i haven not see her in a film yet where she do not threaten to steal the whole thing from her senior and much more experienced colleague and and during the filming of i be sam she be only 6 or 7. wiest and richard schiff and laura dern and others also turn in very complex performance that convey character with deep and multifaceted history and despite their relatively little screen time . nelson approach the film with a number of unusual artistic and technical angle that all work wonderfully . the cinematography be mostly hand hold work . unlike similar attempt in film such a lars von trier dogville ( 2003 ) and the hand hold work never feel affect or intrusive here it completely organic . the most common purpose of the unusual cinematography be to give the viewer almost a subjective sense of what it like to be sam and to experience the world in the way he do . cinematographer elliot davis move his camera in a way closely mirror with sean penn movement . there an additional emotional symbolism . when sam be feel agitate and the camera work be agitate . likewise when sam be confuse and pensive and and so on . davis shoot from a lot of unusual angle . all of them work . nelson also have the editing and lighting and production design match the aesthetic of the cinematography . the editing be sometimes very choppy and but always feel natural and just right for convey sam experience . sometimes there be odd incongruencies between sound and image and or between temporal sequence . the lighting and camera angle and production design often make some element appropriately fantastical . the production design and costume match not only sam world and but other character world and as well . not one aspect of the film seem to have go by without close examination and artistic justification . the music and which largely consist of beatles tune perform by other artist and fit the film perfectly . sam and his friend be all a bit obsessed with the beatles ( and apparently and so be many l. a. goal member when nelson visit ) . the beatles tune exquisitely match the various mood of the film and and the lyric often complement emotion and action . but even above all of that and i be sam tell a heart wrench story that something of an exciting and emotional roller coaster . there be many humorous scene and often center on sam and his buddy go about the world with a kind of winnie the pooh like wisdom that seem more honest and admirable than most of the film normal folk . of course and there be also many scene that will require tissue for tear . and there just about every emotion in between the two . finally and the film have a great message . do parent and or general personal worth and really hinge on intellectual ability and amass knowledge . i do not think so . parent who be very smart can have more than their share of flaw and a we see with pfeiffer character early on . plenty of u have parent who be smart enough but couldn not help u with our geometry homework . love may not be all you need and but it definitely one of the major prerequisite .