My Left Foot (1989)

• Year: 1989
• Released: 30 Mar 1990
• Country: Ireland, United Kingdom
• Adwords: Won 2 Oscars. 23 wins & 20 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097937/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/My_Left_Foot
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/my-left-foot
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Biography, Drama
• Runtime: 103 min
• Writer: Shane Connaughton, Jim Sheridan, Christy Brown
• Director: Jim Sheridan
• Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan
• Keywords: biography, based on true story, based on a true story, flashback, author,

	7.9/10
	97/100
	98% – Critics
	92% – Audience

My Left Foot Storyline

The life of Dublin born and bred Christy Brown (1932-1981) is presented, he who overcame the odds, afflicted with muscle debilitating cerebral palsy (CP) since birth which required around the clock care when he was a child, to become a successful painter and author. He grew up in a working class family, one of thirteen siblings surviving infancy, with the siblings needing to share rooms with four or five to a bed. His mother in particular did whatever she could to make sure Christy was loved and supported. Because of his inability to speak when he was a child, he was largely seen as mentally slow, he who surprised everyone by demonstrating his mental acuity in absorbing everything that was happening around him. Without the use of his hands, he used his left foot to express himself by painting, the paint brush grasped between his big and second toe. He began to be able to express himself more fully when he was taught to speak more clearly by therapist Dr. Eileen Cole. But as he gained greater independence in his life, his mother began to worry more and more about him, not in he overcoming those physical disabilities associated with the CP, but having his hopes dashed by others who may have not seen him as a man with human emotions, including the capability and want to love.

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My Left Foot Movie Reviews

Terrific Daniel Day-Lewis performance

Christy Brown is born with cerebral palsy. His father (Ray McAnally) refuses to give him up and he learns to live with controlling only his left foot. His loving mother (Brenda Fricker) tirelessly raise him. As a child (Hugh O’Conor), everybody assumed that he’s a simpleton until he wrote MOTHER with chalk. As a young man (Daniel Day-Lewis), he is rejected by the pretty girl. His father loses his job and becomes abusive. He falls for Dr. Cole (Fiona Shaw) treating his cerebral palsy but she’s engaged. As an older man, he falls for his nurse Sheila (Alison Whelan).

It’s a tough way to act for Daniel Day-Lewis. It’s not just the physicality but he has to make sense despite his speech pattern. He has to be understandable without speaking understandable English. It’s his anger and his unlikeability that brings out his humanity. He’s not playing a saint or a caricature. It’s a real person. It’s an all-around performance.

Astonishing Performance!

I don’t know much about Christy Brown. This film is about a man who overcame incredible odds and produced some incredibly impressive work. This is about recreating a personality and it is done with painful realism. The two actors that portray Brown, Daniel Day-Lewis and his young counterpart, bring him to life with incredible believability. One can only imagine weighing this great burden the body has placed on this man and for him to also have faced the taunting of his peers and his family. To have been considered retarded and somewhat worthless. It is again a mother’s love and great bearing that keeps the ship afloat. She is not blind and realizes what a difficult road there is, but she is there always. I forgot I was viewing actors and forgot about it being a movie. I felt I was in the room with Christy Brown. This is another one of those films I had heard about for many years. I finally got to see it. It is worth every second, just for the indomitable spirit it portrays.

It’s the Daniel Day-Lewis show!!

‘My Left Foot’ is the remarkable story of Christy Brown, born into a working-class Irish family with cerebral palsy. Growing up in a life full of poverty and extreme prejudice, Christy defied everyone’s expectations. Using his left foot, the only part of his body he had proper control over, the young man learned to write and paint.

I could spend this review talking about the film’s excellent portrayal of working class Ireland, and the working class Irish family specifically. I could talk about how the film does a good job of showing how the attitudes towards Christy Brown changed as Ireland’s own political landscape changed. I could probably also talk about the role of women in Christy’s life, from his mother and sisters, to the loves in his life. All of these things are worthy of mention.

However, when talking about ‘My Left Foot’, there is one thing that stands out above everything else; that being Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis had already proved his acting chops in the excellent ‘My Beautiful Laundrette, but it was this movie that put him on the map globally. And rightly so: he is absolutely fantastic as Christy Brown.

Acting is difficult at the best of times, when you’re playing a fully-functioning human being. What Day-Lewis achieves, therefore, is even more admirable. It is an extremely effective and realistic portrayal of someone suffering from cerebral palsy, and the actor goes gung-ho with both the physicality expressiveness required for the role. It is a joy to watch.

An honourable mention also needs to go to Hugh O’Conor, who plays the younger Brown. I can only assume that it is even harder for a child to go through the rigours that the role requires, but O’Conor is brilliant. What makes the character difficult to play is that, in trying to make it look real physically, the emotion required can be lost. Both actors avoid that problem with what seems like relative ease: at no point does the efficacy or emotion of the moments falter.

All the other stuff mentioned above are worthy of talking about, if I intended to write a longer review. But for this small thing, I think it is more than enough to say that ‘My Left Foot’ deserves to be seen just for this landmark Daniel Day-Lewis performance. Whatever you may think of the film as a whole, or whether you care about the story of Christy Brown or not, it is secondary to the simple appreciation for an actor at the top of his game.