"I Am Sam" Film Response
I Am Sam is a movie of many themes and ideas. To express these themes and ideas many film techniques are used to help the viewer interpret different scenes in a manner that the director wants. Some techniques include camera angles, music, colour, lighting and characterisation. Characterisation uses a variety of other film techniques, such as camera angles, music and lighting, to help the viewer empathise, sympathise and understand different characters. It is used widely throughout I Am Sam, mainly to characterise the main character of the film, Sam.
Everyone has faced problems that seem overwhelming at some point in their life. Sam was no different. Life was already hard for him because of his autism, but when a chain of events left him holding Lucy and watching Rebecca as she disappeared into the crowd, Sam was left alone and confused. To help the viewers sympathise or empathise with Sam, the camera was set level with Sam’s face as he looked around, lost. The camera then switches to a position above Sam focussing on the signs ‘One Way’ and ‘No turning back’. These signs symbolise the path that Sam is now forced to take: raising Lucy on his own.
Another scene in which Sam is seemingly overwhelmed with the task of raising Lucy alone is in the shopping centre. He was holding a crying Lucy and looking for nappies and talcum powder, but there were so many choices. The camera swept from one end of the seemingly endless aisle to the other, alluding to the immense task of raising Lucy alone. To further portray Sam’s feelings of inadequacy, the camera shows Sam spinning around and around, faster and faster, and then freezes on his distorted and stretched face. This helps the viewer see the stress and strain Sam is under, that raising Lucy alone is stretching Sam to beyond his limits. Although the task was overwhelming, Sam never considered giving Lucy up or ever thought that she would be taken away from him.
Most people know how it feels to lose someone or something
Everyone has faced problems that seem overwhelming at some point in their life. Sam was no different. Life was already hard for him because of his autism, but when a chain of events left him holding Lucy and watching Rebecca as she disappeared into the crowd, Sam was left alone and confused. To help the viewers sympathise or empathise with Sam, the camera was set level with Sam’s face as he looked around, lost. The camera then switches to a position above Sam focussing on the signs ‘One Way’ and ‘No turning back’. These signs symbolise the path that Sam is now forced to take: raising Lucy on his own.
Another scene in which Sam is seemingly overwhelmed with the task of raising Lucy alone is in the shopping centre. He was holding a crying Lucy and looking for nappies and talcum powder, but there were so many choices. The camera swept from one end of the seemingly endless aisle to the other, alluding to the immense task of raising Lucy alone. To further portray Sam’s feelings of inadequacy, the camera shows Sam spinning around and around, faster and faster, and then freezes on his distorted and stretched face. This helps the viewer see the stress and strain Sam is under, that raising Lucy alone is stretching Sam to beyond his limits. Although the task was overwhelming, Sam never considered giving Lucy up or ever thought that she would be taken away from him.
Most people know how it feels to lose someone or something