I Am Sean
by Hope Villanueva

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With the exception of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Penn embodies the dark, brooding male. His first major film was Taps, in which he played a student at a military academy. He shared the screen with other future greats Timothy Hutton and Tom Cruise in a story about a student body taking control of their school when it is threatened with destruction. He then moved on to Fast Times, capturing the early 80's party scene, and then to Bad Boys, again as a student gone awry. A series of films followed, including Shanghai Surprise, during the filming of which he met future ex-wife Madonna. A tumultuous three- and some-odd year marriage ensued, during which he also met Future Wife Number Two, Robin Wright (The Princess Bride), on the set of At Close Range.

His next seven movies had stories set in wartime or put Penn in the middle of criminal behaviors, including Colors, Casualties of War and State of Grace. He then vanished from the public eye, save for a pair of cameos, which he does with some regularity. Three years later he resurfaced as the slimy lawyer, Davey Kleinfeld, in Carlito's Way. With hair permed and bleached blond, in wire-rim glasses and with a nervous manner that could make a turtle jumpy, Penn was almost unrecognizable. Kleinfeld fit the mold of Penn's previous characters, though, as a man who moved from being Carlito's (Al Pacino) frightened employee to one who had sunk so far down into the depths of the drug underworld that he could betray the only man who still trusted him. Penn was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama in 1993 for this role.

His next film proved to show Penn's talents off to an even larger audience. As convicted murderer Matthew Poncelet, he pulled heartstrings with the help of Susan Sarandon in Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking. Finding a way to make a man sentenced to die on Death Row seem like a human being would be a challenge for any actor, but Penn built Poncelet into a multi-dimensional character. His harsh words during his confrontations with Sarandon's Sister Helen made it easy for the audience to dismiss Poncelet as an animal, agreeing with the loathing of the victims' families. But the exterior only masked Poncelet's fear of his fate, resulting in highly emotional scenes at the end of the film, when Poncelet finally opens up to Sister Helen. While it may appear minimal compared to the numerous awards garnered by Sarandon that year for her role in Dead Man Walking, the film also earned Penn his first Academy Award nomination, in 1995.

Carlito's Way and Dead Man Walking kicked off Sean Penn's fertile middle period of acting creativity in films. Though She's So Lovely all but slipped quietly into the night, the next few years held a bounty of roles for Penn. He wrestled with Jennifer Lopez and Nick Nolte in Oliver Stone's U-Turn, which was not a box office hit but was intriguing from an acting and directing standpoint. He then moved on to play a mysterious younger brother to Michael Douglas in The Game and a Hollywood mover and shaker in a poor adaptation of David Rabe's Hurlyburly. However, like U-Turn and The Game, Hurlyburly gave Penn another interesting character to gnash his teeth on and another talented actor, Kevin Spacey, to play opposite. In 1998, he took on one of the major ensemble roles in Terrence Malick's beautiful and poetic war film, The Thin Red Line. Unfortunately, this film was released almost simultaneously with Steven Speilberg's highly touted war epic Saving Private Ryan. Because the viewing public deemed Spielberg's more traditional war movie superior, Red Line was not given its full due.

Again for the next few years, Penn was absent from the screen, making only small appearances in supporting or cameo roles. The most notable was his hilarious turn as himself in Being John Malkovich alongside Charlie Sheen, another Hollywood bad boy.

But I Am Sam is a complete departure from the hard-shelled men of Penn's film history. Teamed with the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer, Diane Wiest, Laura Dern and adorable newcomer Dakota Fanning, I Am Sam tells the story of Sam Dawson, a mentally impaired man fighting to keep custody of his mentally advanced daughter, Lucy. While the script itself is predictable, though sweet, the performances of the actors make it a human story. Pfeiffer is charming as Sam's pro bono lawyer, Rita, and Diane Wiest, who does not work often enough for her talent, is a pleasure as Sam's motherly neighbor and friend. The soul of the movie, however is the enchanting relationship between Sam and Lucy. Fanning is quite possibly the universe's most intelligent and adorable child, whose blue eyes show wisdom beyond their years. She holds her own with these cinematic veterans as though she's been acting from the womb. And of course, Penn is an acting force to be reckoned with.

Sam is the opposite of Penn's normal choice of roles. Perhaps now, at forty-one, he was ready for a change of pace. Sam is able to hold a job at the local Starbuck's and to keep a small apartment in Santa Monica, but somehow manages impregnate a homeless woman to whom he gave a place to stay. She disappears the day of Lucy's birth, leaving Sam to care for his newborn daughter. The development of his instincts as a father is fascinating to watch. Though his boss doesn't trust him enough to let him run the coffee machines, Sam attaches to Lucy and proves himself to be a trustworthy and loving father. Lucy adores Sam for all of his charms while recognizing that he "isn't like other Daddies." Their love is one that most families would envy. Penn is able to tap into Sam's insecurities, fears and weaknesses without making him a weak character, as would have been the easier default for a lesser actor. Sam is made of strong enough substance to face up to his boss, his lawyer and Lucy's foster parents in his struggle to bring Lucy home. Particularly impressive is the scene where Sam and Rita confront each other about their shared sense of inadequacy, he as a father and she as a mother.

Oscar buzz is already surrounding Penn's Sam. His main contender seems to be awards show golden boy Russell Crowe for A Beautiful Mind. Looking at the films released this year, Penn's Sam should easily slip into the ring for Oscar nomination at the very least. Odds are, it won't make a difference to Penn one way or another. Regardless, if Penn decides that the more vulnerable characters, like Sam, are not his preference and he goes back toward roles like Matthew Poncelet or Davey Kleinfeld, those films will be stronger for having him in their casts. But how pleasing it would be to see Penn continue to mix it up a bit more and take on a little of each. And how refreshing to see him as a part of a happy ending

Hope Villanueva is a teacher and thespian of varying shades living in Santa Monica, CA. For those who have seem I Am Sam, yes, there are that many Starbuck's that close together in LA. [And even more in Lodon -- Ed.]

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