Film: My Left Foot

Director: Jim Sheridan
Genre: Drama
Source: UK (1989)
Rating: R
Location/Format: Netflix Streaming
Grade: A

Am I stating the obvious too much to suggest that Daniel Day-Lewis is the greatest actor working today? I know that's a bold statement, and usually I steer clear of absolutes like that, but every time I see a new performance, I lose the old Daniel Day Lewis and find a new person--physically, emotionally, mentally. Daniel Plainview. Abraham Lincoln. Hawkeye. Bill the Butcher. Christy Brown. He literally transforms himself, and though normally I find all that extreme acting business a little self-serious, self-indulgent, and silly, I can't deny that it seems to work for him. It did here. He's brilliant in My Left Foot as the cerebral palsy afflicted Irish painter in this biopic from 1989. He inhabits the role in a way that is both astonishing and heart-breaking but ultimately so honest that you can't help but feel guilty for pitying Christy. His intense desire not to be seen as an object of pity but as an emotional, intelligent, and three-dimensional figure--regardless of any physical shortcomings--drives the film forward. And credit where it's due: Hugh O'Conor as the young Christy is nearly as good as Day-Lewis, and he has to work with the added challenge of little to no dialogue.

Honestly pretty much everyone involved with the film seems to be working his or her butt off. Brenda Fricker plays Brown's mother with such compassion and composure that it's hard to know what to do with her--surely no one is that good all the time! Ray McAnally is strong as Brown's father, the stereotypical Irishman (though he's only mildly alcoholic) who struggles to express his feelings or his desperation to provide for his family, even as the children just keep coming.  

Yet desperate is really the last word I should use to describe this family. As far as I know, this is Jim Sheridan's first movie. The director would go on to helm such strong films as In the Name of the Father (which I haven't seen), In America, The Boxer, and bizarrely 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Trying. The films of his that I'm familiar with deal heavily in the angst, drama, and often tragedy of the working class Irish, yet in many ways this film defied my expectations. We see the challenges of Christy's life, without question, but more regularly we see the love that surrounds him in his mother, his siblings, and his father. We see that part of what allows him to thrive is the support system provided for him, even when there is no food, and no money, and apparently no hope. This is no Angela's Ashes, dwelling on the tragic Irish childhood. Christy is a neighborhood mascot first, but quickly becomes a neighborhood hero, and Sheridan allows that transformation from perceived idiot to brilliant artist to develop naturally and warmly. Warm browns inhabit the film--the colors of poverty yes, but also of home and hearth, and Sheridan always allows us to feel like part of the family, as tied to them as they are to each other.

At heart, that love is what this film is about--the love that fosters Christy's artistic potential, as well as the search for real romantic love regardless of his physical limitations. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect going in to this film, but I left with a sense of hope, of joy, and of appreciation for love of all types. My Left Foot is definitely one of the best films I've seen this year.

Alternate Film Title: None needed.