What
are the "best interests of the child" and who decides?
In I Am Sam, directed and cowritten by Jessie
Nelson, thirtysomething Sam (played by Sean Penn) has the
intelligence of a seven-year-old but works as a cheerful and
sweet busboy at Starbucks; he hangs out with his best friends,
other mentally retarded men. Though unmarried, he fathers
a child by having intercourse with a homeless woman for whom
he provides temporary shelter. When he goes to the hospital
to witness the birth of his child, the mother skips out, leaving
him with the awesome responsibility of caring for a baby girl,
whom he names Lucy. With the aid of a neighbor, Annie (played
by Dianne Wiest), he manages to bring up Lucy with tender
loving care. At the time of Lucy’s seventh birthday,
however, he is arrested for soliciting though unaware that
he was being approached by a prostitute. His behavior becomes
so excited that questions are raised by Margaret (played by
Loretta Devine), a social worker, about his suitability as
a parent. Soon, Lucy (played by Dakota Fanning) is taken away
from Sam, and the judge at a preliminary hearing suggests
that Sam should obtain legal counsel for the more formal custody
hearing. Looking in the yellow pages, he finds an impressive
ad by the law firm employing Rita Harrison (played by Michelle
Pfeiffer), and he tries to secure her legal services. Extraordinarily
busy juggling too many cases and a home life that is falling
apart, she tries to put Sam off, but he persists. She decides
to take the case on a pro bono basis, to impress her legal
colleagues, and does her utmost both to find a credible witness
on his behalf and to coach Sam into providing coherent testimony.
Throughout the legal ordeal, Lucy is devoted to Sam, and wants
passionately to resume her home life with him. After Sam loses
at the custody hearing, Lucy is assigned to foster parents,
who later petition to adopt Lucy. Since Rita has never lost
a case, she organizes a way for the father and daughter to
be reunited. Sam takes on two jobs to earn enough income to
live in an apartment near to the house of the foster parents.
Lucy then initiates nightly visits to Sam, who immediately
carries her dutifully back to the home of the foster parents,
eventually proving to the foster mother that father and daughter
should indeed be together again. The foster mother, Randy
(played by Laura Dern), even promises to testify on Sam’s
behalf. At the end of the film, Lucy is playing soccer, Sam
is the umpire for the match, and the foster parents are providing
support in the grandstands. Presumably, the court has award
a form of joint custody that enables Lucy to decide where
and with whom she wants to be. I Am Sam clearly
provides a happy ending after exposing the rigidity of social
workers and the legal precedent that enables government officials
to decide who can serve as a parent. Thus, I Am Sam
appears to be an Americanization and Pollyannaization of the
human rights theme in the British film Ladybird, Ladybird
(1994), which is based on a true story in which social workers
fiendishly removed several children and a newborn baby from
the custody of a battered but loving mother even after she
found a supportive husband and a stable home life. MH
I
want to comment on this film
