Been a tough 18 mo but I hope to be back to writing soon :)
Been a tough 18 mo but I hope to be back to writing soon :)
Member since:11.12.2005
Reviews:46
Members who trust:200
The film "My Left Foot" was released in 1989 and starred Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker. Between them they won Oscar's for their performances. The director was Jim Sheridan who also produced "In The Name of the Father" and "In America".
The film itself is based on the autobiography by Christy Brown. Christy Brown was born to a large catholic Irish family in 1932. He was born into a loving family who were also poor, and loyal. His father; played by Ray McAnally; headbutts a customer in the public bar for even dare suggest his ability to have children was over, or that his child would go in a home because he was disabled. Christy had Cerebral Palsy, and his real physical body strength was more or less completely in his left foot. His parents wouldn't have known what the disability was until much later, but they refused to let him be institutionalised.
The family lived in a close knit area in Dublin, and despite his physical limitations Christy enjoyed playing in the street with the other kids. In their ignorance, other people often believed him to be a dunce, as he struggled to communicate. Even his father struggles to understand his speech, although his mother never loses faith in Christy and saves up for a long time to try and buy him a wheelchair.
The fact that he gets to the age of 19 before he even owns a wheelchair probably shows the level of poverty in the area of Dublin at the time, (the family was a large one, and there were four children to a bed) and Christy has to struggle by dragging himself along the house or even the street to keep up with his brothers and sisters.
Finally an educational centre for people with cerebral palsy opens in Dublin and Christy is able to attend a school for the first time in his life at the age of 19. From here, he meets a teacher who ensures that his talent for painting is recognised in the city. But despite the fact that he is finally adapting to his life and his condition his mother has her concerns. Christy himself struggles with a dependency on alcohol and is confused over love for a time too.
Daniel Day-Lewis, and the actor Hugh O Connor who played the younger Christy both did a convincing role playing Christy. The father, played by Ray McAnally was a man who was traditional like families were at the time, but could still show his emotion, especially when Christy first chalked M O T H E R on the floor as a young boy, and his father realised he was not a dunce after all. McAnally died shortly after the film was made and got a posthumous award.
My Left Foot is a true story of how one man can overcome severe disability and become not only a successful artist, but a poet and an author too (He had other books as well as his autobiography before he died in 1981). It is an inspirational story, especially when you see the start he had, and the fact no-one believed he was capable of doing anything for himself.
Daniel Day Lewis spent weeks with patients with CP to understand the effects of their disability and was able to play a convincing role as Christy as did the younger actor. Brenda Fricker, cast as Mrs Brown never gave up on her son either, even though most children with such a disability would have been institutionalised in Ireland at that time.
I thought the Dublin scenes and the general sets and wardrobes were authentic, and represented the greyness and poverty of the era.
Based on the book of his life, which he wrote in 1954 when he was 22.
The film is rated as 15 and was released 8 years after Christy Brown died.
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Great review, I haven't seen this film, but it sounds good. Jules x
jonkelly 23.05.2006 20:41
A review which is totally objective with only a smal paragraph of what you think. I do not really need objective comments but want your opinions and analysis your values are important not so called objectivity.
Based on the story of Christy Brown this highly acclaimed film depicts his struggle for a ... more
normal life. Born with cerebral palsy into a poor working-class Irish family Christy was able only to control movement in his left foot and to speak in guttura...
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Dec 12th, 2005
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