My Left Foot

Plot

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.

Release Year: 1989

Rating: 7.8/10 (21,862 voted)

Director:
Jim Sheridan

Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan

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.

Writers: Shane Connaughton, Jim Sheridan

Cast:

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

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

Release Date: 10 November 1989

Filming Locations: Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office Details

Budget: £600,000

(estimated)

Gross: $14,743,391
(USA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Daniel Day-Lewis acted out the opening scene, as we see in the film, on the first take.

Goofs:

Continuity:
Christy's position on the stairs changes between cuts when he is going downstairs after his mother's fall.

Quotes:

[Christy's father builds him a house next to his parents]

Mrs. Brown:
Well, Christy, that's the nearest he'll ever come to saying I love you.

User Review

A remarkable film and performances by Day-Lewis and Fricker

Rating: 10/10

Let me state at the outset that I have Cerebral Palsy and I went into this
film expecting to have to make allowances for the lead performance. I left
the theater half-convinced that they'd cast an actor who had Cerebral Palsy
in the role, even though I knew that was not the case. The performances
were generally excellent, with a special nod to Brenda Fricker and to Hugh
O'Conner (I believe that's his name) as the young Christy Brown. Christy is
talented, brash, arrogant, at times vulgar and petulant-in other words,
human. This film, along with Gaby: A True Story and the documentary King
Gimp, are excellent portrayals of life with CP. By no means a complete
portrait, but fine examples of the disabled as human beings. Most highly
recommended.