My Left Foot review

 Number 428 on the top 1000 films of all time is Jim Sheridan's biopic: My Left Foot.

My Left Foot tells the true-life story of Christy Brown played by Daniel Day-Lewis. Christy Brown was a man living in 1930's Dublin who has been suffering from severe cerebral palsy since his birth. The only part of his body he can control is his left foot which he uses to become a successful writer and painter.

Upon watching this film, I thought it would be too traumatic to watch again. Akin to The Sea Inside or the Diving Bell and the Butterfly, it would explore the human condition in an inspirational but depressing way. It would raise up your spirits before brutally crushing them. 

However, the film surprised me intensely. Rather than being a soul-crushing, brutally-raw portrayal of Christy Brown's life, it was quite the opposite. This isn't to say that Christy Brown didn't suffer - he suffers immensely, especially during a time where cerebral palsy wasn't a widely recognised condition. Yet he is never a social outcast or pariah.

His family do their best to take care of him with his many siblings becoming his devoted caregivers. Brown also has many friends who are more than happy to include him in all his games. Even though his father played by Ray Macanally struggles with his son's condition, he is also the first to defend him from the teasing of his drinking buddies.

Daniel Day-Lewis won the first of his three acting Oscars for this role. It was a brilliant performance, as Christy Brown was over-flowing with humanity and vulnerability. Yet he was also inspirational. He never lets himself be downtrodden by his condition. True Day-Lewis may have gone a bit far in his method acting - actually having the crew push him around in a wheelchair - but it all paid off as Brown was a three-dimensional, well-rounded character. Just like anybody else, he has his own strengths and flaws.

Day-Lewis wasn't the only Oscar winner. Brenda Fricker also won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing Brown's mother Bridget. She was every bit as good as Day-Lewis.

My Left Foot really surprised me as a film. I thought it would be one of the most depressing, hard-going films I would ever watch. I'm happy to admit that I couldn't have been more wrong.