My Left Foot (1989)
"My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown" (original title)

The story of Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy. He learned to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.

Director:

Jim Sheridan

Writers:

Shane Connaughton (screenplay), Jim Sheridan (screenplay),

Stars:

Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan

Won 2 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Christy Brown
Brenda Fricker	...	Mrs. Brown
Alison Whelan	...	Sheila
Kirsten Sheridan	...	Sharon
Declan Croghan	...	Tom
Eanna MacLiam	...	Benny
Marie Conmee	...	Sadie
Cyril Cusack	...	Lord Castlewelland
Phelim Drew	...	Brian
Ruth McCabe	...	Mary
Fiona Shaw	...	Dr. Eileen Cole
Ray McAnally	...	Mr. Brown
Pat Laffan	...	Barman (as Patrick Laffan)
Derry Power	...	Customer in Bar
Hugh O'Conor	...	Young Christy Brown

Storyline

Christy Brown is a spastic quadriplegic born to a large, poor Irish family. His mother, Mrs Brown, recognizes the intelligence and humanity in the lad everyone else regards as a vegetable. Eventually, Christy matures into a cantankerous writer who uses his only functional limb, his left foot, to write with.

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Plot Keywords:

foot | christy brown | cerebral palsy | irish | courage | 

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Taglines:

A film about life, laughter, and the occasional miracle.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Ireland UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Left Foot

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

£600,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$14,743,391 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ferndale Films, Granada Television, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is the only film ever to get an A+ rating from Entertainment Weekly.

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Goofs

Above his dad's head just after Christy writes "mother", and his dad is saying ,"Jesus."

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Quotes

Mr. Brown: [entering a bar holding nine-year-old Christy] This is Christy Brown, my son. Genius.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Oscar Nomination Surprises (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Foggy Dew"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Performed by Daniel Day-Lewis

User Reviews

You can't deny that Daniel Day-Lewis is the world's most devoted actor.

Even if you know absolutely nothing about Ireland, you have to love "My Left Foot" (and especially Daniel Day-Lewis' performance in it). He plays cerebral palsy-afflicted Christy Brown. Due to this, he has spent most of his life ostracized. Even when trying to warn people about something, they just laugh at him. The light in the darkness for him is that he has control over one body part: his left foot. He uses that appendage to paint and write poetry, bringing him to prominence.

Daniel Day-Lewis and director Jim Sheridan did very well on this collaboration, and also on a later collaboration: "In the Name of the Father" (but "The Boxer" was unnecessary). "My Left Foot" can make you feel many ways: sad, hopeful, or something else. But in any case, Daniel Day-Lewis gave the performance of a lifetime here. A great movie in every sense.