I saw I am Sam tonight. It wasn't as schlocky as I thought it would be. The previews made me think the movie was going to be tearjerker and who wants to sit through that. But, since Sean Penn was nominated for Best Actor for this movie, I made myself watch it. Penn's performance was very studied and controlled. You can see his brain thinking away, trying to figure out his next move. But other than that, his performance was stunning. His physical gestures, Sam's way of walking, the way he held open his mouth all the time was rivetting. I liked the fact that he played the character of Sam without judgment and the movie filmed Sam that way. The director could have easily made the audience feel sympathetic to the Sam character, but it's not that easy. Sam is retarded and you get to feel the embarrassment and shame that his mental handicap causes the pepole around him. But Sam is not to be pitied or glorified. He's just retarded and like most people, just trying to get by in ths world with a kid.

The filmmakers really made the social services people come off like the cruel heartless liberals that the right wing media says there are. Those social services people were drawn so one-dimensional and just plain mean and nasty.

I'm not sure if Sean will win. I still have yet to see Ali and Training Day. Ali is no longer in theatres even though Will Smith was nominated for an oscar. I'm thinking it might be Denzel Washington as the winner only because he did get overlooked for his performance on The Hurricane. But Sean Penn, I don't know. His character work was flawless, controlled and very complete.