View source for My Left Foot

{{short description|1989 film by Jim Sheridan}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = My Left Foot
| image          = My Left Foot.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Jim Sheridan]]
| producer       = [[Noel Pearson (producer)|Noel Pearson]]
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* [[Shane Connaughton]]
* Jim Sheridan
}}
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[My Left Foot (book)|My Left Foot]]''|[[Christy Brown]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|<!-- Per poster billing block -->
* [[Daniel Day-Lewis]]
* [[Ray McAnally]]
* [[Brenda Fricker]]
* [[Cyril Cusack]]
* [[Fiona Shaw]]
* [[Hugh O'Conor]]
* [[Adrian Dunbar]]
* [[Ruth McCabe]]
* Alison Whelan
}}
| music          = [[Elmer Bernstein]]
| cinematography = Jack Conroy
| editing        = J. Patrick Duffner
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* Ferndale Films
* [[Granada plc|Granada Film]]
* [[RTÉ|Raidió Teilifís Éireann]]
}}
| distributor    = [[Stephen Woolley|Palace Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1989|2|24|df=y}}<ref>Jackson, Laura. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qq8dAQAAIAAJ&q=%22+world+premiere+in+Dublin+at+the+Savoy+%22 ''Daniel Day-Lewis: The Biography''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231070908/http://books.google.com/books?id=qq8dAQAAIAAJ&q=%22+world+premiere+in+Dublin+at+the+Savoy+%22 |date=31 December 2013}}. John Blake, 2005. p. 137.</ref>
| runtime        = 103 minutes<ref>{{Cite web |title=''My Left Foot'' |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/my-left-foot-1970-0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813063244/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/my-left-foot-1970-0 |archive-date=13 August 2020 |access-date=14 July 2018 |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]}}</ref>
| country        = {{Plainlist|
* Ireland<ref name="BFI" />
* United Kingdom<ref name="BFI">[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79777aff "My Left Foot (1989)"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026223615/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79777aff |date=26 October 2017}}. [[British Board of Film Classification]].</ref>
}}
| language       = English
| budget         = £600,000<ref>{{Cite web |last=GDN Online Desk |date=27 August 2017 |title=Hollywood: 15 low-budget movies that did well at the Box Office |url=https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/251352/15-low-budget-movies-that-did-well-at-the-Box-Office/286381 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714135353/https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/251352/15-low-budget-movies-that-did-well-at-the-Box-Office/286381 |archive-date=14 July 2018 |access-date=14 July 2018 |website=[[Gulf Daily News]]}}</ref>
| gross          = $14.7 million<ref>{{Cite web |title=My Left Foot (1989) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1986299393/weekend/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109004250/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1986299393/weekend/ |archive-date=9 November 2019 |access-date=14 July 2018 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref>
}}

'''''My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown''''' is a 1989 [[Biographical film|biographical]] [[Comedy drama|comedy-drama]] film directed by [[Jim Sheridan]] (in his directorial debut) and adapted by Sheridan and [[Shane Connaughton]] from [[My Left Foot (book)|the 1954 memoir]] by [[Christy Brown]]. A [[Co-production (media)|co-production]] of [[Cinema of Ireland|Ireland]] and the [[Cinema of the United Kingdom|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.<ref>''[[The Irish Filmography]] 1896-1996''; Red Mountain Press; 1996. page 43</ref> [[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, direction, message, and especially the performances of Day-Lewis and Fricker.<ref>{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes|id=my_left_foot|type=movie|access-date=29 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Metacritic|id=my-left-foot/critic-reviews|type=movie|title=My Left Foot, critic reviews|access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> At the [[62nd Academy Awards]], the film received five nominations, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], with Day-Lewis and Fricker winning [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]], respectively. In 2018, the [[British Film Institute]] ranked it as the [[BFI Top 100 British films|53rd greatest British film of the 20th century]].<ref>[https://www.cinemarealm.com/best-of-cinema/top-100-british-films/ ''British Film Institute – Top 100 British Films''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112022753/https://www.cinemarealm.com/best-of-cinema/top-100-british-films/ |date=12 January 2018}} (1999). Retrieved 27 August 2016</ref>

==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 [[Childbirth|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 [[fête]] together.

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[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.<ref name="Perfectionist">{{Cite web |last=Hirschberg |first=Lynn |author-link=Lynn Hirschberg |date=8 December 2007 |title=Daniel Day-Lewis: the perfectionist |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3669814/Daniel-Day-Lewis-the-perfectionist.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221004343/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3669814/Daniel-Day-Lewis-the-perfectionist.html |archive-date=21 February 2016 |access-date=27 October 2015 |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]}}</ref> He said of the scene: "I knew it couldn't be done... and that intrigued me."<ref name="Perfectionist" /> 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 Awards|Academy Award]].<ref>[[Anthony J. Jordan|Jordan, Anthony J.]] ''Daniel Day-Lewis, Gentleman. A Memoir''. pp. 1–22.</ref>

Day-Lewis is 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 January 2018 |title=Daniel Day-Lewis' Craziest Method Acting Stories |url=https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/film/g15335475/daniel-day-lewis-craziest-method-acting-stories/ |access-date=18 January 2018 |website=[[Esquire (UK Edition)|Esquire]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Matthew |date=15 October 2021 |title=Why Daniel Day-Lewis Once Made Crew Members Feed Him by Hand Daily |url=https://www.thethings.com/daniel-day-lewis-method-acting-story-crazy-my-left-foot/ |access-date=15 October 2021 |website=TheThings}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Calum |date=21 November 2021 |title=Daniel Day-Lewis' extraordinary method acting in 'My Left Foot' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/daniel-day-lewis-method-acting-in-my-left-foot/ |access-date=21 November 2021 |website=Far Out Magazine}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{multiple image
| caption_align     = center
| header_align      = center
| align             = right
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Daniel Day Lewis 26 May 2013.jpg
| width1            = 380
| height1           = 500
| image2            = Brenda Fricker (2106633526) (cropped).jpg
| width2            = 431
| height2           = 500
| footer            = [[Daniel Day-Lewis]] and [[Brenda Fricker]] earned [[Academy Awards]] for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]].
}}

===Critical response===
''My Left Foot'' received widespread critical acclaim. {{RT prose|98|8.2|44|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.|ref=yes|access-date=29 January 2023 |archive-date=28 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128100813/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_left_foot |url-status=live}} {{Metacritic film prose|97|18|ref=yes|access-date=10 September 2018 |archive-date=10 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610201849/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/my-left-foot |url-status=live}}

[[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."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=2 February 1990 |title=My Left Foot movie review & film summary (1990) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/my-left-foot-1990 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713163952/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/my-left-foot-1990 |archive-date=13 July 2018 |access-date=13 July 2018 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref>

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]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 February 2015 |title=Recount! Oscar Voters Today Would Make 'Brokeback Mountain' Best Picture Over 'Crash' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/recount-oscar-voters-today-would-773522/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122094645/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/recount-oscar-voters-today-would-773522/ |archive-date=22 January 2019 |access-date=3 January 2020 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of awards and nominations
|-
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Date of ceremony
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Recipient(s)
! scope="col"| Result
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="5"| [[Academy Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 62nd Academy Awards {{!}} 1990 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402002952/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=17 October 2011 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]}}</ref>
| rowspan="5"| [[62nd Academy Awards|26 March 1990]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Noel Pearson (producer)|Noel Pearson]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Jim Sheridan]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Daniel Day-Lewis]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Brenda Fricker]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
| [[Shane Connaughton]] and Jim Sheridan
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="5"| [[British Academy Film Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Film in 1990 {{!}} BAFTA Awards |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1990/film |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701063539/http://awards.bafta.org/award/1990/film |archive-date=1 July 2017 |access-date=3 July 2022 |publisher=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]}}</ref>
| rowspan="5"| [[43rd British Academy Film Awards|11 March 1990]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''My Left Foot''
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor]]
| Daniel Day-Lewis
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Ray McAnally]] <small>(posthumous)</small>
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
| Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair|Best Makeup]]
| Ken Jennings
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| [[European Film Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=European Film Awards : Archive |url=https://members.europeanfilmacademy.org/Archive.39.0.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924003724/https://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/1989.87.0.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=23 January 2015 |publisher=[[European Film Academy]]}}</ref>
| rowspan="3"| [[2nd European Film Awards|25 November 1989]]
| [[European Film Award for European Discovery of the Year|Young European Film of the Year]]
| ''My Left Foot''
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[European Film Award for Best Director|European Director of the Year]]
| Jim Sheridan
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[European Film Award for Best Actor|European Actor of the Year]]
| rowspan="2"| Daniel Day-Lewis
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=My Left Foot {{!}} Golden Globes |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/my-left-foot |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128114814/https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/my-left-foot |archive-date=28 January 2015 |access-date=3 July 2022 |publisher=[[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]]}}</ref>
| rowspan="2"| [[47th Golden Globe Awards|20 January 1990]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
| Brenda Fricker
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Independent Spirit Awards]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 October 2014 |title=My Left Foot (1989) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/34071/My-Left-Foot/details/#moreAwards |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019060551/https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/34071/My-Left-Foot/details#moreAwards |archive-date=19 October 2014 |access-date=23 January 2015 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
| [[5th Independent Spirit Awards|24 March 1990]]
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film|Best Foreign Film]]
| ''My Left Foot''
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=15th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards |url=http://lafca.net/Years/1989.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013095754/http://lafca.net/Years/1989.php |archive-date=13 October 2015 |access-date=3 July 2022 |publisher=[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]}}</ref>
| rowspan="2"| [[1989 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|16 January 1990]]
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Daniel Day-Lewis
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| Brenda Fricker
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[National Board of Review]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=1989 Award Winners |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1989/ |access-date=3 July 2022 |publisher=[[National Board of Review]]}}</ref>
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1989|26 February 1990]]
| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| ''My Left Foot''
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[National Society of Film Critics]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 January 1990 |title=Critics' Award to 'Drugstore Cowboy' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/08/movies/critics-award-to-drugstore-cowboy.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123215938/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/08/movies/critics-award-to-drugstore-cowboy.html |archive-date=23 January 2015 |access-date=23 January 2015 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
| [[1989 National Society of Film Critics Awards|8 January 1990]]
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Daniel Day-Lewis
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 December 1989 |title=Critics Circle Selects 'Left Foot' for Best Film and Actor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/19/movies/critics-circle-selects-left-foot-for-best-film-and-actor.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 July 2022 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
| rowspan="2"| [[1989 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|14 January 1990]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''My Left Foot''
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Daniel Day-Lewis
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[42nd Writers Guild of America Awards|18 March 1990]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium]]
| Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[Young Artist Award]]s<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eleventh Annual Youth in Film Awards (1988-1989) |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms11.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409024401/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms11.htm |archive-date=9 April 2014 |access-date=31 March 2011 |publisher=[[Young Artist Award]]s}}</ref>
| rowspan="2"| [[11th Youth in Film Awards|March or April 1990]]
| Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
| [[Hugh O'Conor]]
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Motion Picture – Drama
| ''My Left Foot''
| {{nom}}
|}

==See also==
* [[BFI Top 100 British films]]
* [[List of 1990s films based on actual events]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{mojo title}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes}}
* {{TCMDb title}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for ''My Left Foot''
| list  =
{{Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}
}}
{{Jim Sheridan}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:My Left Foot}}
[[Category:1989 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1989 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1989 films]]
[[Category:1980s British films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:Biographical films about painters]]
[[Category:Biographical films about writers]]
[[Category:British comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Films about mother–son relationships]]
[[Category:Films about people with paraplegia or tetraplegia]]
[[Category:Films about people with cerebral palsy]]
[[Category:Films about the working class]]
[[Category:Films based on biographies]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jim Sheridan]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films scored by Elmer Bernstein]]
[[Category:Films set in Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Films shot in Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Films shot in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Best Foreign Film Independent Spirit Award winners]]
[[Category:Irish comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy-drama films]]