Sean Penn (1 Viewer)

Penn's a great actor. "I am Sam" was an extremely calculated movie, with feel-good contrivances throughout. But Penn saves it with his sterling performance.

Thanks again for a great show, Sean!

Richard, what surprised me is why Penn decided to participate in this film. He usually shuns the obviously commercial stuff.

I haven't seen I am Sam yet, so I can't comment on it. I will agree that Penn is a tremendous actor. His performances in Dead Man Walking and Carlito's Way are among my very favorite. Hell, I even loved him as Jeff Spikoli (sp?).

You should also note his wonderful but brief appearance in Before Night Falls. He can really slip into a character.

The Carlito's Way effort was incredible. He stole that film IMHO.

Frankly I think Penn's I Am Sam performance was phenomenal; the best thing in a fairly run-of-the-mill tearjerker. I'm noticing that critics now despise anything that's remotely sentimental. The problem is most of them can't seperate the fake sentimental stuff (Patch Adams, A Time to Kill) from films that deal honestly with emotion. I Am Sam slips into forcedness in its last half, but it isn't nearly as offensive as the critics (who are obviously disturbed by emotional content) make it sound.

Mark

While I think that The Pledge was one of the worst films I seen in quite a while, I think he is a great actor. U-Turn was another great Oliver Stone film(expect anything less from him) and Sean Penn was amazing in The Game!

Personally, I think Penn blossomed early and I thought his best performance was in Bad Boys. The scene at the end when he is trying to hold back his tears and showing how broken he was was a great performance. He was a great Spicoli in Fast Times as well. I haven't cared for him much recently though.

I agree that The Pledge was a horrible movie. But Penn is a great ACTOR. I saw I Am Sam, and though I hated the movie (only saw it casue the girl wanted to) Sean Penn's acting was great in it. You start to think he really is retarded at times. Fast Times, The Game, Dead Man Walking were all great.
Later

Ebert's point was that a role like Sam is too easy for Penn, that he could do it in his sleep.

Penn did himself a disservice: he made some pretty harsh statements about movies and Hollywood. Now, everyone is closely monitoring everything he does to catch him when he does anything that seems contradictory to what he said.

I Am Sam looks like this sort of thing.

It was bound to happen. He was setting himself up as something he could never be.

Reply to Mike:

Still, Penn has set himself up pretty good. He does *matter*, whereas most actors don't. He has earned respect, something that didn't seem likely given his brash and often downright uncivil behavior.

Penn is definitely outstanding. Most of his best roles aren't all that well known, though. Four in particular come to mind. Two, Bad Boys and Carlito's Way were already mentioned. Two others also jump out to me, Sweet and Lowdown and State of Grace. Fortunately, all of these except State of Grace are on DVD and it has been announced for this year by MGM. I can't wait. Sean Penn and Gary Oldman together. I can retire my P&S LD.

I would also add his role in "The Falcon and the Snowman" as memorable.

I've heard others mention that one as well. I guess Falcon just has never really done much for me personally as a movie. I tend to be distracted by roles I consider to be "tactic" roles and that is one for me. Kind of like his part in I am Sam.

I get the feeling Penn may have taken the role in I AM SAM with his two children in mind. They are an obvious inspiration and he has stated that there are not too many films in his oeuvre that his children can watch. In that way, I don't think it was a bad choice. Of course, I am slacking as a big Sean Penn fan in that I still have not seen I AM SAM.

Just picked up THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN dvd--it's a cheap disc and though the film has not aged that well to me, it had to be had for Penn's performance. Showy, yes, but Penn doesn't do it too often and when he does he's one of the best. CARLITO'S WAY and FALCON make for a nice double feature...whenever CARLITO gets suitable dvd treatment, that is. Now when is that MGM release of STATE OF GRACE going to be announced? Looks like third or fourth quarter, I hope.

Jon

I haven't seen I Am Sam and have no desire to even though I think Penn is one of the best actors working today (hate, HATE, Michelle Pfeiffer).

As for the Pledge, I don't know what film some of you were watching but I thought it was brilliant.

I really enjoyed this movie as well and I feel that Penn was overlooked at the Oscars.
What bothers me the most about the backlash, especially a statement like this,

Ebert's point was that a role like Sam is too easy for Penn, that he could do it in his sleep.

is what about similar performances by other actors in the past that were rewarded with the Oscar.
What about Geoffrey Rush in Shine, Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot, and Dustin Hoffman in Rainman.
Were those performances "leaps and bounds" over Sean Penn's that they receive an Oscar and Penn is criticized that the role was too easy?

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Brett: In the end it boils down to the fact that they came first... the retard role has since become a shoe in for the Oscars.
And besides, it seemed like Penn took his notes entirely from watching Rain Man. Sam comes across as autistic rather than simply legally retarded. (What's the PC term of the day now? Mentally disabled?) I don't think he was overlooked by the Oscars. The fact that he got a nomination even is surprising. There were plenty of other more complex and layered performances.
Although, I may be biased... I don't like the way he conducts himself personally, like when he said that Bill O'Reilly was worse than Hitler. That both trivalizes WWII and the Holocaust as well as saying that any political views that don't mesh with Penn's own are inherently even and should be banned.
That said, he's a decent actor. But he didn't deserve the Best Actor for this role in my opinion.

I agree that Sean Penn is a great actor and I liked him a lot in Hurlyburly.