My Left Foot

Irish writer/artist Christy Brown, as portrayed in the new film "My Left Foot," had a rather volatile personality, along with a dry wit. He probably wanted more than anything else to simply be accepted for who he was, but his frustrations at the limitations life placed on him were not well hidden.

Brown was a cerebral palsy victim with his left foot the only appendage over which he had complete control. With that foot he learned to paint, write, type and essentially communicate, though he eventually learned to speak clearly enough so that people could understand him.

The film stars Daniel Day Lewis playing the part of Christy as a teenager and adult, a role that has to be one of the most demanding in the history of cinema.

Day Lewis first came to prominence internationally with "My Beautiful Laundrette," in which he played a gay punk, and "A Room With a View," as an effete snob — two roles that couldn't have been more different. Day Lewis literally sank into those characters and was unrecognizable. In fact, it wasn't until "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" that audiences saw Day Lewis in a role where he was not buried by makeup, accents and twisted body language.

Not since Hoffman, DeNiro, or much earlier, Lon Chaney Sr., began their careers has there been an actor more enigmatic or surprising in his acting achievements than Day Lewis, and with the role of Christy Brown he again climbs into a character so all-consuming that it's hard to imagine Brown is being played by an actor at all.

The film follows Christy's life from his birth into a poor, crusty bricklayer's family in Dublin through a fortuitous meeting with a young nurse when he was about 40.

The early part of the film shows Christy as a young boy, played by Hugh O'Conor, who is every bit as astonishing in his full-bodied portrayal of Christy as is Day Lewis.

Right after his birth, Christy is so difficult to raise that others encourage the family to put him in some kind of home, but his loving mother (Brenda Fricker) and even his tough-minded, chauvinist father (the late Ray McAnally) insist that he stay with the family.

At first, as is often the case with handicapped children, Christy is perceived as brain-damaged. But, of course, he is really simply unable to communicate his thoughts and feelings.

Eventually, he learns to write with his left foot and crudely composes the word "mother" with chalk on the floor. It's an astonishingly emotional scene. And yet, first-time director Jim Sheridan manages to keep the inherent sentiment of the story to a minimum. (Sheridan should also get credit, of course, for pulling the performances from Day Lewis and O'Conor — as well as the rest of his incredible cast.)