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My Left Foot
My Left Foot
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jim Sheridan
Screenplay by	Shane Connaughton; Jim Sheridan;
Based on	My Left Foot; by Christy Brown
Produced by	Noel Pearson
Starring	Daniel Day-Lewis; Ray McAnally; Brenda Fricker; Cyril Cusack; Fiona Shaw; Hugh O'Conor; Adrian Dunbar; Ruth McCabe; Alison Whelan;
Cinematography	Jack Conroy
Edited by	J. Patrick Duffner
Music by	Elmer Bernstein
Production; companies	Ferndale Films; Granada Film; Raidió Teilifís Éireann;
Distributed by	Palace Pictures
Release date	24 February 1989;
Running time	103 minutes
Countries	Ireland; United Kingdom;
Language	English
Budget	£600,000
Box office	$14.7 million

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jim Sheridan (in his director debut) adapted by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton from the 1954 memoir by Christy Brown. A co-production of Ireland and the United Kingdom, it stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Brown, an Irish man born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Brown grew up in a poor working-class family, and became a writer and artist.^[6] Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Hugh O'Conor, Fiona Shaw, and Cyril Cusack are featured in supporting roles.

The film was theatrically released on 24 February 1989 to critical acclaim and commercial success, grossing $14.7 million on a £600,000 budget. Reviewers praised the film's screenplay and direction, its message, and especially the performances of Day-Lewis and Fricker.^[7]^[8] At the 62nd Academy Awards, the film received five nominations, including Best Picture, with Day-Lewis and Fricker winning Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. In 2018, the British Film Institute ranked it as the 53rd greatest British film of the 20th century.^[9]

Plot

In 1932, Christy Brown is born into a Dublin family of 15. Doctors discover he has severe cerebral palsy. Christy is unable to walk or talk. He is loved and supported by his family, especially his mother. One day, Christy's mother trips down the stairs while in labour and Christy is the only person home to see it. He alerts some neighbours to help. Christy's father never believed Christy would amount to anything, but becomes proud after witnessing him use his left foot, the only body part he can fully control, to write the word "mother" on the floor with a piece of chalk.

Consequently, Christy seeks a hobby in painting. The neighbourhood youngsters include him in their activities, like street football, but when he paints a picture and gives it to a girl he likes, she returns it. Later, his father loses his job and the family faces exceptionally difficult hardships, so Christy devises a plan to help his brothers steal coal to their mother's dismay. Christy's mother, who has been gradually gathering some savings in a tin in the fireplace, finally saves enough to buy him a wheelchair.

Christy is then introduced to Eileen Cole, who takes him to her school for cerebral palsy patients and persuades a friend of hers to hold an exhibition of his work. Christy falls in love with Cole, but when he learns during the dinner that she is engaged to be married, he considers suicide. His mother helps him build a private studio for himself, but soon afterward his father dies of a stroke, and during the wake Christy instigates a brawl. At this point, Christy starts writing his autobiography, My Left Foot. Cole returns and they resume their friendship. Later, Christy attends a charity event where he meets his handler, a nurse named Mary Carr. She begins reading his autobiography. He asks Mary to go out with him and they then happily leave the fete together.

Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown, a man born with cerebral palsy
- Hugh O'Conor as Young Christy Brown
Brenda Fricker as Bridget Fagan Brown, Christy's mother
Ray McAnally as Patrick Brown, Christy's father
Fiona Shaw as Eileen Cole, Christy's carer
Kirsten Sheridan as Sharon Brown, Christy's sister
Alison Whelan as Sheila Brown, Christy's sister
Eanna MacLiam as Benny Brown, Christy's brother
Declan Croghan as Tom Brown, Christy's brother
Marie Conmee as Sadie Brown, Christy's sister
Cyril Cusack as Lord Castlewelland
Phelim Drew as Brian Brown, Christy's brother
Eileen Colgan as Nan
Ruth McCabe as Mary Carr, Christy's handler and eventual wife
Adrian Dunbar as Peter, Cole's fiancé

Production

Day-Lewis became interested in the project when he read the opening scene, which features him, as Brown, using his left foot to place a phonograph record on a player and then placing a needle onto it so that it will play.^[10] He said of the scene: "I knew it couldn't be done... and that intrigued me."^[10] Many scenes were filmed through a mirror, as he could only manipulate his right foot to perform the actions seen in the film. He spent some time preparing for the film at Brown's alma mater in Dublin. He later returned there for a visit, with his Academy Award.^[11]

Day-Lewis was known for his extreme method acting, and insisted on staying in character during the production of the film, refusing to do anything that Brown could not do. This meant that members of the film crew had to move the actor around in a wheelchair, lift him over obstacles, and even feed him.^[12]^[13]^[14]

Reception

Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker earned Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

Critical response

My Left Foot received widespread critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 44 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "No doubt most will come to My Left Foot for Daniel Day-Lewis's performance, but the movie's refusal to go downbeat will keep it in viewers' minds afterwards."^[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 97 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[16]

Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, writing: "My Left Foot is a great film for many reasons, but the most important is that it gives us such a complete picture of this man's life. It is not an inspirational movie, although it inspires. It is not a sympathetic movie, although it inspires sympathy. It is the story of a stubborn, difficult, blessed, and gifted man who was dealt a bad hand, who played it brilliantly, and who left us some good books, some good paintings and the example of his courage. It must not have been easy."^[17]

In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter polled hundreds of academy members, asking them to re-vote on past controversial decisions. Academy members indicated that, given a second chance, they would award the 1990 Academy Award for Best Picture to My Left Foot instead of Driving Miss Daisy.^[18]

Accolades

List of awards and nominations
Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
Academy Awards^[19]	26 March 1990	Best Picture	Noel Pearson	Nominated
		Best Director	Jim Sheridan	Nominated
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Brenda Fricker	Won
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards^[20]	11 March 1990	Best Film	My Left Foot	Nominated
		Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Ray McAnally (posthumous)	Won
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan	Nominated
		Best Makeup	Ken Jennings	Nominated
European Film Awards^[21]	25 November 1989	Young European Film of the Year	My Left Foot	Nominated
		European Director of the Year	Jim Sheridan	Nominated
		European Actor of the Year	Daniel Day-Lewis	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards^[22]	20 January 1990	Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	Daniel Day-Lewis	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards^[22]	20 January 1990	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Brenda Fricker	Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards^[23]	24 March 1990	Best Foreign Film	My Left Foot	Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association^[24]	16 January 1990	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association^[24]	16 January 1990	Best Supporting Actress	Brenda Fricker	Won
National Board of Review^[25]	26 February 1990	Top Ten Films	My Left Foot	Won
National Society of Film Critics^[26]	8 January 1990	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
New York Film Critics Circle^[27]	14 January 1990	Best Film	My Left Foot	Won
New York Film Critics Circle^[27]	14 January 1990	Best Actor	Daniel Day-Lewis	Won
Writers Guild of America Awards	18 March 1990	Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium	Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan	Nominated
Young Artist Awards^[28]	March or April 1990	Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Motion Picture	Hugh O'Conor	Won
Young Artist Awards^[28]	March or April 1990	Best Motion Picture – Drama	My Left Foot	Nominated