The film adaptation of “My Left Foot” lays bare the trials and tribulations of Brown’s life, many of which were caused by his nearly-complete quadriplegia due to Cerebral Palsy. The movie was an unexpected hit, and it led to the rediscovery of Brown’s work by a new generation of readers. That book was called “My Left Foot,” and in 1989, it was made into a film of the same name starring Daniel Day Lewis in the eponymous role. It was his condition that drove Brown, who was diagnosed with severe spastic Cerebral Palsy shortly after his birth in 1932, to write an autobiographical tome in 1954 that covers his life from humble beginnings in Dublin flat with his parents, Bridget and Paddy, and 12 siblings, to his struggle to train the only part of his body that worked – a foot – to write, paint and inspire the literary world. Brenda Fricker won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actress as Brown's mother and she is the real moral centre of the film and this film proves that Hollywood is capable of choosing small, lesser known films for Oscar consideration and 'My Left Foot' is a film that is uplifting without being sentimental.“My Left Foot” explores the genius of Irish author Christy BrownĬhristy Brown was one of the 20th Century’s most unique voices he was a writer and an artist that pushed past his own physical limits to leave a compelling legacy that extends well beyond his native Dublin. Director Jim Sheridan directs the film like a series of home movies that millions want to see. He achieved the great success of being an accomplished writer and artist. Day-Lewis probably would have won anyway as his performance was hard to ignore and he had never received any acting nominations from the Academy before this film despite turning in great work in such films as 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' and 'My Beautiful Laundrette.' As Christy Brown, Daniel Day-Lewis makes his character unsympathetic as he doesn't want you to feel sorry for him.
The Academy was still riding the wave of awarding Dustin Hoffman a second Best Actor prize a year earlier for his performance as a mentally challenged individual in 'Rain Man' and since Day-Lewis' performance was superior to Hoffman's, the Academy had to recognize him. Daniel Day-Lewis' almost impossible performance as a man with cerebral palsy earned him a well-deserved Oscar in 1989 for Best Actor over the heavily favoured Tom Cruise in 'Born on the Fourth of July' and Morgan Freeman in 'Driving Miss Daisy'.
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