Tuesday, June 5, 2012

My Left Foot (1989) ***1/2

my_left_foot

Many years ago I came to the conclusion that Daniel Day-Lewis is the best actor of his generation.  His ability to fully immerse himself in whatever role he is playing is legendary.  When watching one of his films I don’t see Day-Lewis, I see his character.  The sheer intensity of his portrayals is gripping and spellbinding—and without a doubt unmatched by any other actor today. I suspect Leonardo DiCaprio learned many things when he worked with Day-Lewis on The Gangs of New York (2002), but I think the most important was the idea that you should only do quality work.  DiCaprio took a page out of Day-Lewis’ book and stopped making one inane film after another and concentrated on picfoot1king films for which he could be proud.  Day-Lewis has made less than twenty-five feature films in his career (most highly regarded), which only goes to prove that quality is always more important than quantity.

I have a difficult time deciding which of his two Academy Award wins for Best Actor (he has been nominated four times) is the best.  His menacing portrayal of Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007) is powerfully mesmerizing, and his turn as Irish artist and writer Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989) is inspiring.  Of the two, Christy Brown is the embodiment of a controlled performance. Not just any actor could have played a character born with cerebral palsy and who was unable to speak clearly throughout most of the film, but Day-Lewis does it beautifully.  While Day-Lewis could never master using his left foot as Christy Brown did to write and paint (Day-Lewis used his right foot instead and the scenes were shot through a mirror), he nailed the body rigidness and facial expressions. Although the performance is completely controlled, it also appears natural and believable. 

friOf course, Day-Lewis (and the film) greatly benefitted from working with two accomplished actresses. Brenda Fricker won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Christy’s devoted mother, Bridget Brown.  The real Mrs. Brown gave birth twenty-one times (ah, to be an Irish Catholic!), so she was an often harried woman but she did as much for Christy as possible.  Fricker does a nice job of showcasing Mrs. Brown’s resilient nature and her unabashed love for her special son. She and Day-Lewis really do a sensational job of exposing just how deep and abiding their two characters love and respect one another.

Oddly enough, Fiona Shaw is often overlooked in My Left Foot, which is a shame because this is one of her better film roles (she is primarily knownMy-Left-Foot---Oscars-001 for her stage work).  She doesn’t have as much screen time as one might like, but she makes her character, Dr. Eileen Cole, memorable in her few scenes.  Dr. Cole plays a much more significant role in the book than the film, but I think that screenwriter and director Jim Sheridan wanted to focus more on the mother-son relationship than that of the patient-doctor one. Still, Shaw does get to shine in her brief appearances; one of which is in the memorable restaurant tantrum scene.   

Besides the overall fine acting, the film itself is inspirational.  To watch a young boy (played beautifully by Hugh O’Connor) struggle with an almost paralyzing disease struggle to matter in the world is life-affirming.  Here we have a boy who everyone thinks is mentally handicapped but who is really a brilliant individual—his determination to persevere and be 2395345121_4f7735d62c_orecognized by both his family and society is beyond admirable.  When he first writes “Mother” on the family floor and his entire family realizes he’s not “retarded” you get a little catch in your throat.  When you watch him descend into despair (and alcoholism) as a young man when he realizes that romantic love is beyond his reach (at least until the end of the film), you feel truly sorry for him.  And, seeing him learn how to control his impaired speech by reciting Hamlet’s soliloquy “To Be Or not To Be” is a testament to the human spirit. I think most people enjoy films about overcoming obstacles and the fact that this is a true story only makes it even more compelling.

22 comments:

  1. Love this one too. I have the soundtrack CD autographed by Elmer Bernstein. He seemed very pleased when I asked him to autograph it for me. I know he lived, or had a second home, in Ireland for many years, so the material likely had a special resonance for him. A beautiful score for a beautiful movie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have not seen many Daniel Day-Lewis films, but.. I loved his performance, in one of my favorite films, The Age of Innocence. I bet he is wonderful in the film, My left foot. Can't wait to see it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Age of Innocence is one of his more subtle performances. I think you would really like My Left Foot, Dawn, so check it out when you have time.

      Delete
  3. This was the first film I ever saw Day-Lewis in. I had no idea who he was and when I next saw him walking onto the stage to accept his Oscar I couldn't reconcile the two images. Thank you for mentioning O'Conor's performance. Every other review of this film forgets about him. I was just as impressed with his physicality and performance as I was with Day-Lewis'. It was his performance that sold the "mother" scene, which is the best moment in the movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, O'Connor is often overlooked, but he is such a big part of why this film is so powerful.

      Delete
  4. Avatar is another masterpiece from James Cameron which made huge impact on movie industry. After this movie 3D became a state of the art technology. This movie is one of the watch-in-3D movies. Despite of trivial love story storyline, this movie is one of the best movies of 2009. This solarmovies.co is a number one in a all-time top grossing movie list with over $2.7 billion.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Watch movies on original dvd and vcds by online booking services with online movies store. Select movie, buy it and enjoy with just a click. https://freenetflixacc2019.weebly.com/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tropical North Queensland is as diverse in natural treasures as the cosmopolitan mix of cultures and peoples that call this region home easter fools day

    ReplyDelete
  7. Step by step instructions on throwing a party including invitation, party guests, food and venues. Learn the first steps in planning a great party. See why the foundation is so important to the success of any party. bucks night

    ReplyDelete
  8. Best PowerPoint presentation is best for formal as well as a business presentation. See More What you have to do is customize it and fill all your data.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Are you crazy for movies? I must admit I'm a cracker for movies. So, all those who consider themselves movie crazy raise your hands. Yup, that's koktale everybody. Why are we movie crazy? Why do we live in a movie crazed society? Hey, what are movies anyway?

    ReplyDelete
  10. There is noticeably a bundle to understand about this. I suppose you have made certain nice points in functions also. sa re ga ma pa 2007 contestants

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey there! Wonderful stuff, please do tell us when you post again something similar! putlocker

    ReplyDelete
  12. The when I read a weblog, I’m hoping which it doesnt disappoint me about this. Come on, man, Yes, it was my choice to read, but I personally thought youd have something fascinating to say. All I hear is actually a handful of whining about something that you could fix when you werent too busy trying to find attention. geng mp3 download

    ReplyDelete
  13. 123movies. detail, what he considers to be t

    ReplyDelete
  14. Along with the whole thing which appears to be developing within this particular subject material, all your points of view are actually very exciting. Nonetheless, I beg your pardon, but I do not subscribe to your entire plan, all be it radical none the less. It looks to me that your commentary are not totally justified and in actuality you are generally yourself not even wholly certain of your argument. In any case I did enjoy reading it. roulette online

    ReplyDelete
  15. Are you planning of constructing a house? While there are many house plans that you can go with, not all of them are ideal for you. One of the best house plans that you should consider is the east facing house plan. https://hellorad.io/marketing-strategies/music-marketing-plan-planning-for-a-successful-music-release/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Entertainment has become synonymous to movies. Different people, regardless of age and gender, have ever since regarded watching movies when they want to be amused or spend a quality time while relaxing and easing out their stress from work and daily routines. ดูหนังออนไลน์

    ReplyDelete
  17. hello!,I like your writing so much! proportion we keep in touch extra about your post on AOL? I require a specialist in this house to resolve my problem. May be that is you! Looking ahead to see you. ดูหนังออนไลน์

    ReplyDelete
  18. Bollywood has made a lot of movies over its existence period. There are some movies that cannot be missed and such movies deserve to be watched at least thrice over the course of your life time. These Bollywood movies are all time hits and you cannot give such movies a miss. long distance moves

    ReplyDelete