My Left Foot (1989)

Toe to Toe

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy My Left Foot on DVD.

Daniel Day-Lewis gives a startling, dazzling performance as Christy Brown, a man born with cerebral palsy who learned to write and paint with his left foot. He goes a long way in making My Left Foot a success. Director Jim Sheridan guides the film in a relatively straightforward manner, playing the emotional highs and lows like a weeping fiddle. Brenda Fricker turns in an equally heroic performance as Christy's bother, and both won Oscars for their efforts.

DVD Details: Miramax has released a new 2005 Collector's Series DVD, but I'm not sure how well the film will play 16 years later, since this kind of disease-of-the-week biopic -- and variations thereof -- has been copied to death (Shine, A Beautiful Mind, etc.). The disc comes with a featurette on the real Brown, a making-of featurette and vintage reviews from Elvis Mitchell, Pauline Kael, Charles Champlin and David Denby.

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Ray McAnally, Brenda Fricker, Fiona Shaw, Adrian Dunbar, Ruth McCabe, Cyril Cusack
Written by: Jim Sheridan, Shane Connaughton, based on the book by Christy Brown
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 103 minutes
Date: August 14, 2005