I Am Sam

I Am Sam has truly got to be one of my favorite movies. It's a story of a man with mental retardation with the mental capacity of a seven year old, with a seven year daughter. Through a series of events, the courts find him incapable of being able to properly raise a child, and remove the child from his custody and into foster care. He then gets a top lawyer to work his case probono in an attempt to get his daughter back. The lawyer, Rita, only takes this case in the beginning to prove a point, but really ends up learning and developing majorly throughout. She fights right along Sam up until the very end, and all of the characters learn the value of love. But, I'm not going to spoil it and say whether he gets his daughter back or not. (; It would be movie I would highly recommend to someone though. That is, if they don't mind shedding a few tears here and there.


This movie has several components that relate to psychology. The major one is of course; the elements of both Sam and his group of friends with other mental disabilities. Sam and all of his group of friends are all fully grown adults living with some sort of mental disorder. In addition to this, Sam also seems to have a case of OCD. In several parts throughout the movie, Sam exhibits behavior such as going to a certain restaurant the same time every week, and having to eat a certain thing at a certain place, or else he becomes very upset. Another aspect of psychology is seen in the neighbor, Annie. Annie is seen to have agoraphobia, which is the fear of being in open spaces. Which she eventually overcomes for a short period of time to help Sam in court, but then again shows signs of agoraphobia when she screams when a car door is almost opened. Finally, there are also many different types of personalities displayed throughout the movie, such as comparing Sam's personality to Rita's. Making I Am Sam full of psychological components.