My Left Foot (1989)

Directed by Jim Sheridan. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Hugh O’Connor, Ruth McCabe, Fiona Shaw, Cyril Cusack, Kristen Sheridan, Declan Croghan, Eanna McLiam, Adrian Dunbar, Alison Whelan, Phelim Drew, Marie Conremme. [R]

Compelling story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born into a poor working-class family, afflicted with severe cerebral palsy that leaves him only capable of fully controlling his left foot, which he uses to dramatically beat the odds (and expectations of nearly everyone around him) to become a writer and painter. Uplifting but never mawkish, the film forgoes the depressive treatment that these kinds of triumph-over-adversity portraits usually attract; the mood is often earthy, cranky, and humorous (there’s even a barroom brawl worthy of a rowdy Western), a refreshing and entertaining strategy that aerates the heavier, more tenderhearted moments, but does no favors for the narrative rhythms of an already episodic story juggling the bleak and the barmy. Oscar winner Day-Lewis is nothing short of incredible, crafting a vital, flawed persona instead of a mere symbol of adversity (or opportunity for a thespian to simply show off a mastery of abnormal physical mannerisms), but he’s surrounded by the stellar company of McAnally as his dubious but proud father, O’Connor playing Christy as a youth, and Fricker as his loving and supportive mother (the latter also won an Academy Award). In his directorial debut, Sheridan demonstrates a blazing but humanistic touch. Full onscreen title: My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown.

87/100