My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Jim Sheridan

Writers:

Shane Connaughton (screenplay) &
Jim Sheridan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 November 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

A film about life, laughter, and the occasional miracle.

Plot:

The story of Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy. He learned to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.

Plot Keywords:

Cerebral Palsy | Irish | Author | Poet | Painter

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Christy Brown
Brenda Fricker	...	Mrs. Brown
Alison Whelan	...	Sheila
Kirsten Sheridan	...	Sharon
Declan Croghan	...	Tom
Eanna MacLiam	...	Benny
Marie Conmee	...	Sadie
Cyril Cusack	...	Lord Castlewelland
Phelim Drew	...	Brian
Ruth McCabe	...	Mary
Fiona Shaw	...	Dr. Eileen Cole
Ray McAnally	...	Mr. Brown
Pat Laffan	...	Barman (as Patrick Laffan)
Derry Power	...	Customer in Bar
Hugh O'Conor	...	Young Christy Brown

Also Known As:

My Left Foot (UK) (short title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Ireland | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:L | Ireland:12 (video) | Australia:M | France:Unrated | Peru:14 | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | South Korea:All | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Ferndale Films

Trivia:

Based on Christy Brown's true life story.

Goofs:

Continuity: Christy's position on the stairs changes between cuts when he is going downstairs after his mother's fall.

Quotes:

[sarcastically offering congratulations to Eileen, his beloved therapist ]
Christy Brown: Con-gra-tu-la-tions to you and Peter. I'm glad you taught me to speak so I could say that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gilmore Girls: The UnGraduate (#6.3)" (2005)

Daniel Day-Lewis deserved all of his acting awards...

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS does a remarkable job of playing Christy Brown, the artist who grew up with cerebral palsy but managed to have a productive life, dealing successfully with his handicap and becoming a respected artist and writer.

The film, however, is a very difficult one to review--or even watch. Fortunately, I had the caption feature on to catch every spoken word which would have been impossible if I saw the film in a theater. While I respect it as a brave piece of work dealing with difficult subject matter, I can't say it's the sort of film I'd want to view more than once.

Nevertheless, my attention was held by the story-telling device, a flashback framed by the present, in which we see Christy being honored for his achievements before we see the flashback to his youth and his struggles to communicate with those around him, who certainly gave him loving care.

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS certainly is remarkable as the troubled man who falls in love with a therapist (FIONA SHAW), much to his mother's fear that when the love is not reciprocated his heart will be broken. There's a painfully long scene in a restaurant where he confesses his love to her before others and then goes into a frenzied rage after drinking too much.

BRENDA FRICKER does a brilliant job as the mother taking care of him, his father and a brood of siblings while struggling to keep a roof over their heads until Day-Lewis begins to have success with his work. She complements Day-Lewis' performance as the warm-hearted mother and shares many poignant moments with him.

Richly detailed story of a family that stayed together under the most unusual of circumstances with attention to period detail in every frame of the film. Both Fricker and Day-Lewis won Oscars, but HUGH O'CONOR and RAY McANALLY are also excellent. O'Conor is Christy as a boy and McAnally is the father who spends too much time at the local pub but loves the boy.

Summing up: Elmer Bernstein's music is an added plus factor. Well worthwhile, but definitely not a film for everyone.