Powerful

Absolutely the worst movie.

Absolutely Fantastic

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

No doubt inspirational, "My Left Foot" is an unflinching look at the life of Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy and who, with great determination, taught himself to paint with his only usable limb. The character of Christy is portrayed by two remarkable actors, Hugh O'Connor as the young boy, and Daniel Day-Lewis as the adult Christy. The film is not shy about revealing all of the frustration and anger that motivates the man, and in some respects, one will stand in shock at his behavior when things in life do not go his way. His behavior at the dinner party when his language teacher, Dr. Eileen Cole (Fiona Shaw) announced her engagement to Peter (Adrian Dunbar) was one example. His utter rage at an insult against the family, resulting in a barroom brawl was another, so the person was not entirely sympathetic. There were aspects of the picture that didn't ring true to me, and not having read Christy Brown's autobiography, I have no way of knowing if my observations have merit. But for one, there is not one single example of anyone bullying or making fun of the young Christy as a boy. This seemed rather unbelievable to me, as knowing how cruel kids can be, even when not meaning to, that there were no examples of that kind of behavior. Nor was there any reference to how the parents (Ray McAnally, Brenda Fricker) dealt with their son's bodily functions. This may sound gross or unsympathetic, but someone in the family had to attend to those necessities and it wasn't addressed in any sort of way. The behavior and attitude of Christy's many siblings was also a model of decorum throughout, and one marvels at the idea that there were never any squabbles among them growing up.As with many of these biopics, I'm always leery about the Hollywood treatment of making a film with the greatest universal appeal, so that also led me to doing a quick search on the real Christy Brown. I was startled to learn that his relationship with Mary Carr (Ruth McCabe) began while he was having an affair with a married American woman who he intended to wed upon her divorce. The marriage to Mary was fraught with it's own set of problems, as she was accused of being an abusive alcoholic and habitually unfaithful. So the movie's feel good ending was not entirely accurate in the way it was portrayed. Be that as it may, Daniel Day-Lewis is astounding as the adult Christy Brown, having earned a Best Actor Oscar for his efforts. I would almost call it the best performance ever by an actor of a disabled person, but have to qualify that now after having seen Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of Stephen Hawking in 2014's "The Theory of Everything". I'm still puzzled though over Brown's cryptic written words after coming to terms with Eileen Cole's engagement - "All is nothing. Therefore nothing must end." In trying to parse the phrase, anything I come up with doesn't make sense.

The Academy was still riding the wave of awarding Dustin Hoffman a second Best Actor prize a year earlier for his performance as a mentally challenged individual in 'Rain Man' and since Day- Lewis' performance was superior to Hoffman's, the Academy had to recognize him. Day-Lewis probably would have won anyway as his performance was hard to ignore and he had never received any acting nominations from the Academy before this film despite turning in great work in such films as 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' and 'My Beautiful Laundrette.'As Christy Brown, Daniel Day-Lewis makes his character unsympathetic as he doesn't want you to feel sorry for him. He achieved the great success of being an accomplished writer and artist. Director Jim Sheridan directs the film like a series of home movies that millions want to see.Brenda Fricker won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actress as Brown's mother and she is the real moral centre of the film and this film proves that Hollywood is capable of choosing small, lesser known films for Oscar consideration and 'My Left Foot' is a film that is uplifting without being sentimental.

'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.

Christy Brown was born in Dublin to a very large, poor family. He had severe cerebral palsy and could only control his left foot. Without formal schooling, he became an acclaimed painter, writer, and poet.This movie is absolutely wonderful. I'd put off watching it because I expected it be maudlin and manipulative, but it's not; it's earthy and defiant and hopeful, just like Christy. Daniel Day-Lewis earned the Best Actor Oscar for his stunning performance which manages to convey his horrible frustration and longings without being overly-sentimental. He's really outstanding. Brenda Fricker won Best Supporting Actress; she's immediately likable and admirable. The entire cast is perfect and the story is truly inspiring.Heartily recommended.