My Left Foot (1989) directed by Jim Sheridan
Christy Brown struggled his entire life to be taken seriously as a human being and to not be looked upon as a helpless cripple. Born with cerebral palsy, he had no control over his body except for his left foot which he used to paint and write his way into prominence. It would be easy to assume that My Left Foot is a feel good inspirational movie and for the most part it is. But it is also a look at a troubled man who struggled with alcoholism, depression and rejection, themes common in many people's lives, except that he does it in a wheelchair. The film does not try to paint him as a saint, but simply a man. Somewhere in the middle of the film, the curator of an art gallery tells the crowd, "Some people say Christy Brown is a great crippled artist, but that would be an insult to him. Christy Brown is a great artist, period." It would also be insulting to him then to look at him with pity because of his condition. I don't think any crippled person really desires that kind of attention; they only wish to be treated as real people.
The film chronicles Christy's life from childhood into adulthood and does the standard biopic stuff you would expect. It is inspiring to see his story unfold but the scenes that were most interesting to me weren't the highs but rather the lows. He longed for love and affection, which is tough for any adolescent let alone for someone with cerebral palsy. He is rejected and it breaks his heart. You can see the growing frustration and loneliness build up inside until it spills over in violent fashion. As with any great artist or genius, he was not an easy man to be around.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Christy Brown in this award winning role. What makes this a good performance isn't merely his imitation of someone with cerebral palsy but in showing the internal struggle that builds up inside of the character. While we are on the subject, I love Daniel Day-Lewis. I think he's one of the best actors of my lifetime. If only he would make more films!
I thought this was a pretty good film that was realistic and honest. It would have been so easy to paint Christy as a saintly archetype rather than a complicated individual and I appreciated that it wasn't pandering as so many of these kind of films can be. While we are allowed to feel sorry for him because of his condition, we are also allowed to dislike him for being an ass sometimes, just like any other fully functional normal person.
Grade: B+
Christy Brown struggled his entire life to be taken seriously as a human being and to not be looked upon as a helpless cripple. Born with cerebral palsy, he had no control over his body except for his left foot which he used to paint and write his way into prominence. It would be easy to assume that My Left Foot is a feel good inspirational movie and for the most part it is. But it is also a look at a troubled man who struggled with alcoholism, depression and rejection, themes common in many people's lives, except that he does it in a wheelchair. The film does not try to paint him as a saint, but simply a man. Somewhere in the middle of the film, the curator of an art gallery tells the crowd, "Some people say Christy Brown is a great crippled artist, but that would be an insult to him. Christy Brown is a great artist, period." It would also be insulting to him then to look at him with pity because of his condition. I don't think any crippled person really desires that kind of attention; they only wish to be treated as real people.
The film chronicles Christy's life from childhood into adulthood and does the standard biopic stuff you would expect. It is inspiring to see his story unfold but the scenes that were most interesting to me weren't the highs but rather the lows. He longed for love and affection, which is tough for any adolescent let alone for someone with cerebral palsy. He is rejected and it breaks his heart. You can see the growing frustration and loneliness build up inside until it spills over in violent fashion. As with any great artist or genius, he was not an easy man to be around.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Christy Brown in this award winning role. What makes this a good performance isn't merely his imitation of someone with cerebral palsy but in showing the internal struggle that builds up inside of the character. While we are on the subject, I love Daniel Day-Lewis. I think he's one of the best actors of my lifetime. If only he would make more films!
I thought this was a pretty good film that was realistic and honest. It would have been so easy to paint Christy as a saintly archetype rather than a complicated individual and I appreciated that it wasn't pandering as so many of these kind of films can be. While we are allowed to feel sorry for him because of his condition, we are also allowed to dislike him for being an ass sometimes, just like any other fully functional normal person.
Grade: B+
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