Grew up…
only to remain at the mental age of seven. Sam, a
developmentally challenged man in his thirties, has all the
enthusiasm and curiosity of a child.
Living… with his young daughter, Lucy. Sam, despite his mental
handicap, is a dedicated single father. His daughter, Lucy, has been
his companion for years. Whenever he cannot take care of her, he
relies on his agoraphobic neighbor and his group of supportive
friends.
Profession… barista’s assistant at Starbucks. Sam is beloved at the
local café, where he takes drinks to the customers and helps keep
the place tidy. He earnestly tells each customer, “That’s a wonderful
choice!”
Interests… The Beatles. Sam not only loves their music, but he often
turns to their life stories for inspiration. He explains, “Paul McCartney
lost his mother when he was little, and John Lennon lost his mother
when he was little – and Annie says that sometimes God just picks
special people… that’s what Annie says.”
Relationship Status… never had a real romantic relationship. He
managed to father Lucy with a homeless woman who “just needed a
place to sleep.” The only love that Sam understands is the innate
love that a father feels for his daughter.
Challenge… trying to regain custody of Lucy. As Lucy begins to
surpass her father’s mental capabilities, it becomes clear that he may
not be able to raise her. When a social worker takes Lucy away, Sam
enlists a high-powered attorney to help get her back. But can he
handle the pressure of the stand and articulate why he should remain
Lucy's legal guardian? Can he convince a jury that he's in fact a
competent, loving father? More importantly, can he convince himself?
Personality… sweet, innocent, and wiser than he looks. Sam slowly
becomes self-aware after Lucy is taken away, and is frustrated by
other’s inability to understand his struggle. He tells his lawyer, "You
don't know what is like when you try, and you try, and you try, and
you try, and you don't ever get there! Because you were born perfect
and I was born like this, and you're perfect!"
2. It
is a very accurate portrayal of how an father with an intellectual disability
would be treated in today’s society. Sean Penn played an amazingly accurate
representation of a father with and intellectual disability trying to maintain
custody of his daughter.The film focuses on the title character of Sam (Penn),
an adult man with autism who is struggling to raise his 7 year daughter Lucy
(Fanning) on his own. As Lucy's intellectual age begins to surpass that of her
father's, social services seek to take her into care, so Sam must go to court to
fight for custody.
Sam struggled to raise her daughter when she was still an infant. He didn’t know
how to take care of the child especially when she’s crying a lot. He also has
limited reading capacity. When her daughter is 6 years old, the school she
attends becomes concerned with the home care she is receiving as she begins
to become more mature than her father.
Other children also bullied her daughter for having an intellectually-disabled
father, and
she becomes too embarrassed to accept that she is more advanced than he is.
Although
Sam provides a loving and caring environment for her daughter Lucy, she will
soon
surpasses her father's mental capacity. Questions arise about Sam’s ability to
care for
Lucy and a custody case is brought to court. This results in the courts taking
Lucy away
Young Phoebe (Elle Fanning) has Tourette's syndrome, and she's not very good at
following rules. Her mother (Felicity Huffman) and father (Bill Pullman) struggle to help
and understand her, even while Phoebe's little sister feels neglected by her parents.
Things take a turn when Phoebe lands a role in her school's theatrical version of "Alice in
Wonderland." Unconventional drama teacher Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson) helps the
girl feel more normal, but Phoebe still struggles offstage.
As a future educator someday, we can encounter different attitudes and abilities of a student. we
should learn on how to handle them. for example, we can have a student like Sam, we should be
able to control our temper and be patience enough in interacting with them. we have our different
ways/techniques in educating our students. we have a big role in the society as teachers, the
future depends in our hands. As a teacher someday, i will know first about the behavior of my
students so that I will be aware on how to handle them. Giving them the best advice as well as
their decisions. teaching them the best I can too become a good Instructor. Providing them as
well as protecting them for their learning.The main role of a teacher is to impart knowledge to
the young, as a future teacher someday I must not also teach my student about our lessons.
Instead teach them do value one another by showing respect, acceptance and of course show
patience to my students. Considering every differences of each student. Recognize and develop
student’s potential, focus on the abilities of the students on what he can do, and not what he
cannot do.Being a teacher someday (hopefully), the movie gave me the idea that there are
children who are unique and exceptional. They may act differently but they are also God’s
creation who must be treasured. They may have disabilities but, they have feelings to. I will be
fair and will treat every student, normal or with special needs, equally. I must also consider their
abilities and will reinforce them to continue doing and I will also understand them. They will not
only learn from me, but I WILL LEARN FROM THEM THE MOST because of their unique and
exceptional intelligence. Also, I can relate the movie in dealing with my future students in such a
way of understanding them, their abilities and disabilities. Being a teacher someday, I must be
keen enough to observe my students to know why they are acting like this or that and to construct
appropriate activities suitable for her/him. It is also important especially when I might encounter
student with mental disabilities in my class. It would help me understand them better, accept
them wholeheartedly, and interact with them. For me, it is not just applicable to them but all the
students perhaps. It cannot be denied that I will be dealing with various students with different
abilities and disabilities, may it be physically and mentally. I need to be patient enough in
dealing with all the negatives that my students can have. I need to accept the reality that each of
us is unique, for me to relate and open myself to my future students. I need to know them better
to understand them. And I need to understand them in order for me to create and prepare
classroom activities suitable for them.I should be able to control our temper and be patience
enough in interacting with them. we have our different ways/techniques in educating our
students.Recognize and develop student’s potential, focus on the abilities of the students on what
he can do, and not what he cannot do
from Sam and giving him
brief visitation periods every
week until he can prove that
he is
a fit parent.
Sam then seeks out a lawyer,
finding a high class lawyer
named Rita Harrison who
is willing to take on his case
pro bono to gain favor with
her peers because others see
her
as cold and heartless. Rita
and Sam struggle to prove to
the courts that Sam is in fact
capable and has the support
groups to successfully raise
his daughter.
4. Who provided support?
What support did he/she get
from his/her environment?
Sam has a very supportive
community. His neighbor
Annie (Dianne Wiest), a
piano-player and
agoraphobic, befriends Sam
and takes care of Lucy when
Sam can't.
She also teaches him how to
care for Lucy, and his
friends provided him
emotional and
tangible support. Even in the
court proceedings, his
friends are there to show
their
support. His attorney also
should support for him even
though they didn’t get along
in
their first acquaintance. Also
even the foster family
becomes a strong support.
The foster
family decides to support
Sam’s desire to have Lucy
returned to him, and they
agree to
be supportive to him in the
reunification. The foster
family who planned on
adopting Lucy
lets Sam have custody of
her. Sam says that Lucy still
needs a mother and asks if
the
foster mother would like to
help raise Lucy. In the end,
he is successful and wins the
case.
The movie ends with Lucy's
soccer game where Sam is
the referee. In attendance
are Lucy's former foster
family, the newly divorced
Rita and her son with whom
Rita has
renewed her relationship,
along with Annie and Sam's
other friends.
