- My Left Foot (film)
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My Left Foot 
Theatrical release posterDirected by Jim Sheridan Produced by Noel Pearson Screenplay by Jim Sheridan
Shane ConnaughtonBased on My Left Foot by
Christy BrownStarring Daniel Day-Lewis
Ray McAnally
Brenda Fricker
Fiona Shaw
Hugh O'ConorMusic by Elmer Bernstein Cinematography Jack Conroy Editing by J. Patrick Duffner Distributed by Granada Films (UK)
Miramax FilmsRelease date(s) November 10, 1989 Running time 103 minutes Country Ireland
United KingdomLanguage English Budget £600,000 Box office $14,743,391[1] My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working class family, and became a writer and artist. The film also stars Ray McAnally, Brenda Fricker, Fiona Shaw, Julie Hale, Alison Whelan, Kirsten Sheridan, Declan Croghan, Eanna MacLiam, Marie Conmee, and Cyril Cusack. It was adapted by Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan from the book of the same name by Christy Brown.[2]
It won the Academy Award for Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Brenda Fricker). It was also nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.
It also won the NYFCC Best Picture Award for 1989.
Contents
Cast
- Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown
- Brenda Fricker as Bridget Brown
- Ray McAnally as Paddy Brown
- Fiona Shaw as Dr. Eileen Cole
- Hugh O'Conor as young Christy Brown
- Kirsten Sheridan as Sharon Brown
- Alison Whelan as Sheila Brown
- Eanna MacLiam as Benny Brown
- Declan Croghan as Tom Brown
- Marie Conremme as Sadie Brown
- Cyril Cusack as Lord Castlewelland
- Phelim Drew as Brian
- Ruth McCabe as Mary Carr
Awards and nominations
My Left Foot's awards are bolded and nominations are also listed.
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- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)
- Best Supporting Actress (Brenda Fricker)
- Best Director (Jim Sheridan)
- Best Picture
- Best Screenplay - Adapted (Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan)
- BAFTA Film Awards
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- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)
- Best Supporting Actor (Ray McAnally)
- Best Film
- Best Makeup (Ken Jennings)
- Best Screenplay - Adapted (Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan)
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- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)
- Golden Globe Awards
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- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)
- Best Supporting Actress (Brenda Fricker)
- Independent Spirit Awards
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- Best Foreign Film
- London Film Critics
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- Actor of the Year (Daniel Day-Lewis)
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- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)
- Best Supporting Actress (Brenda Fricker)
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- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)
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- Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)
- Best Film
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- Best Screenplay - Adapted (Shane Connaughton and Jim Sheridan)
- Young Artist Awards
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- Best Motion Picture - Drama
- Best Young Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (Hugh O'Conor)
Cultural references
- In the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Terence Stamp, playing a transexual, refers to the main character of the film when asked who painted some murals with the response: "Someone with no arms or right foot from the look of things."
- On the television sketch show In Living Color, Jim Carrey played a Kickboxing expert who could only move his left foot. The sketch was known as My Left Foot of Fury.
- An episode of The Critic has Jay Sherman wearing a My Left Foot sock, a promotion item given to him when viewing the film. In another episode dealing with classic films being updated with "happy endings", Jay states that he "doesn't want the guy from My Left Foot becoming a punter for the Bears".
- In the animated T.V. series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, a movie poster promoting a film called "My Left Tentacle" in front of a theater, a reference to the film; is seen as Flapjack leads Captain K'nuckles around the docks during the episode "Lead em' and Weep"[3]
- In the 1999 film, Flawless, Walter Koontz (Robert De Niro) suffers a stroke and is partially disabled. When a drag queen meets him for the first time, he remarks, "You've got a kind of My Left Foot thing going on, huh?" For the rest of the movie, he refers to him as 'Mr. My Left Foot.'
- In an episode of Gilmore Girls Lorelai tells Luke that she was just doing a rendition of Daniel Day-Lewis' performance in My Left Foot and how she did it with her right foot to give a very different effect.
- The pilot episode of Extras includes a reference to My Left Foot when Kate Winslet expresses that playing a "mental" guarantees an Oscar.
- In an episode of Family Guy, "Jungle Love" Stewie Griffin performs a rendition of "My Left Foot", in which he sings and pulls himself across a stage whilst in a wheelchair only using his left foot.
- In episode 105 of Chappelle's Show, a skit parodying Inside the Actors Studio has Dave Chappelle portraying a crippled African American man in the fictitious film "Little Foot, Long Foot". Daniel Day-Lewis is referenced during this skit, acknowledging that it is a parody of "My Left Foot".
See also
References
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=myleftfoot.htm
- ^ The Irish Filmography 1896-1996; Red Mountain Press; 1996. Page 43
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Marvelous_Misadventures_of_Flapjack_episodes
External links
- My Left Foot at the Internet Movie Database
- My Left Foot at the TCM Movie Database
- My Left Foot at Rotten Tomatoes
- My Left Foot at Box Office Mojo
- My Left Foot (film), an attempt of interpretation
Films directed by Jim Sheridan 1980s My Left Foot (1989)1990s 2000s In America (2002) · Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) · Brothers (2009)2010s Dream House (2011)Categories:- 1989 films
- Irish films
- British films
- English-language films
- 1980s drama films
- Directorial debut films
- Biographical films about artists
- Films about people with cerebral palsy
- Films about writers
- Films based on biographies
- Films directed by Jim Sheridan
- Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award winning performance
- Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winning performance
- Films set in Dublin (city)
- Films shot in the Republic of Ireland
- Irish drama films
- Miramax Films films
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