The film tells the story of Christy Brown, a young man who was born paralysed and could only use his left foot to communicate. The opening scenes of the film take place at a charity gala where Christy is placed in a holding room with a nurse who begins reading his autobiography. It's this autobiography that the film is adapted from and the flashbacks represent various pieces from the book. The first part of Christy's story deals with his attempts to get noticed by his family most of whom see him as nothing more than a worthless cripple. The only person who really seems to care about him is his mother and therefore she's delighted when he spells out her name with chalk, using only his left foot to do so. From there Christy develops a love of painting and becomes a well-regarded artist in the community, even opening his own exhibition. But Christy's main ambition in life appears to be finding somebody who loves him in more than just a platonic manner. The first example of this is when a local girl rejects a painting he created for her as a symbol of his love. Christy's next meaningful relationship is with Dr. Eileen Cole, who helps improve his speech but who later breaks his heart when she reveals she's in love with somebody else. Buoyed on by this rejection Christy uses his left foot to type out his autobiography which then sends the film full circle as nurse Mary Carr has the book in her hands. The final sequence is rather sweet as Christy, who has been in a holding room with Mary for the film's duration, asks her out which she finally agrees to. After a number of depressing moments, Sheridan ends the film on a high by revealing that Christy and Mary were later married.
Depicting characters with physical deficiencies is a sure fire way to get nominated for or even win an Oscar. What Day-Lewis brought to the role of Christy was an element of believability and also the feel that this man wasn't perfect just because he was crippled. Day-Lewis' method acting extended to the fact that during filming he'd demand to be carried around in his wheelchair constantly. This allowed the actor to experience the embarrassments the character faced on a daily basis as crew members had to aid him across any number of electrical wires. Ironically the actor had to use his right foot for all of Christy's paintings so a lot of the film was shot with special mirrors an effect that I didn't notice at all. But Day-Lewis' performance was one of many positive features that made My Left Foot so compelling. Brenda Fricker was absolutely astounding as Christy's mother and for her tender portrayal of a loving matriarch she was awarded that year's Best Supporting Actress award. Shane Connaughton and Sheridan's screenplay brilliantly dilutes Christy's autobiography into a well-paced story which covers all the major plot points successfully. Sheridan's direction really focuses on the Brown household who are all crammed into a small abode but are happy nonetheless. For a biographical film, I found My Left Foot to be visually arresting especially when Sheridan was focusing on Christy's artwork. Whilst My Left Foot isn't a particularly grand film what it does do is tell the story of an underdog in a way that is compelling but never patronising. I'm glad that the film picked up two acting awards and feel that it probably should have won Best Picture as well.
In the four years till they'd work together again, Day-Lewis was nominated for another Oscar for his part in Last of the Mohicans whilst Jim Sheridan directed The Field. Actor and director would then reconvene for In the Name of the Father, in which Day-Lewis would play the wrongly convicted Gerry Conlon who was thought to be a member of the IRA. Conlon, along with three others, went on to be known as 'The Guildford Four' as they were thought to be responsible for the Guildford Pub Bombings of 1974. Just like My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father is based on an autobiographical story by the lead character who never claims to be perfect. Conlon is a petty thief who, in the midst of the hostilities in Northern Ireland, journeys to London to be part of a free love commune. But he, along with three friends, are wrongly implicated in a bombing that happened nearby and are essentially tortured by the police until they confess. Along with the Guildford Four, seven members of Gerry's family are arrested as a supposed terror network and all are eventually convicted. Part courtroom drama and part prison film I found In the Name of the Father to primarily be a story about the love between a father and son. Although Gerry occasionally berates his dad Giuseppe, their relationship improves as they share time in prison together. As Giuseppe's health deteriorates, he calls in a campaign lawyer in an attempt to get an appeal. The lawyer Gareth Peirce is a feisty woman who finds herself bombarded by protocol and red tape until she finally discovers the truth to due to a mistake at the police station. Although it had a somewhat happy ending, In the Name of the Father was a frustrating watch at times as we knew from the start that Gerry and his friends were innocent.
Sheridan is unflinching in his depiction of the brutality inflicted on Gerry by the police and these scenes probably stuck with me the most. The editing and cinematography during these scenes is fantastic and really adds to the character's sense of disorientation. In the Name of the Father wasn't a film that I ever felt comfortable watching and instead it made me incredibly angry. Although I knew snippets of the story, watching it in this much detail was really tough. Day-Lewis demonstrates his range throughout the film as Gerry goes from happy-go-lucky thief to riotous prisoner and finally to vindicated victim. The actor constantly lets us know what his character is feeling and as the film progresses you feel even more sympathy for him. Even though Day-Lewis is excellent as always, I felt the best performance in the film came from Pete Postlethwaite as Giuseppe. Postlethwaite portrays Giuseppe as a traditional man who is found guilty purely because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The actor gives a subtle portrayal of a loving father and his descent into illness is just heartbreaking to watch. The always reliable Emma Thompson is great when she's given a chance to shine as the campaigning Mrs Peirce. In fact I would've like to have seen more from Thompson as her majority of screen time is her in a car listening to Gerry's story on her stereo. The tape recording that Gerry makes for Gareth is a great narrative device and stops the dreaded expositional voiceover from grating too much. Once again Sheridan and Day-Lewis prove they make a fine team as In the Name of the Father was nominated for a mighty seven Oscars even if it didn't win a single one.
Sheridan and Day-Lewis would go on to work together one more time however The Boxer didn't prove as fruitful as their first two outings together. Sheridan would go on to have a prolific career directing the semi-autobiographical In America as well as the 50 Cent movie Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Meanwhile Day-Lewis continued to perfect his method acting and as previously mentioned would go on to break an Oscar record, but more on that in the next decade.
Next time we witness multiple murders committed against a snowy backdrop.
Depicting characters with physical deficiencies is a sure fire way to get nominated for or even win an Oscar. What Day-Lewis brought to the role of Christy was an element of believability and also the feel that this man wasn't perfect just because he was crippled. Day-Lewis' method acting extended to the fact that during filming he'd demand to be carried around in his wheelchair constantly. This allowed the actor to experience the embarrassments the character faced on a daily basis as crew members had to aid him across any number of electrical wires. Ironically the actor had to use his right foot for all of Christy's paintings so a lot of the film was shot with special mirrors an effect that I didn't notice at all. But Day-Lewis' performance was one of many positive features that made My Left Foot so compelling. Brenda Fricker was absolutely astounding as Christy's mother and for her tender portrayal of a loving matriarch she was awarded that year's Best Supporting Actress award. Shane Connaughton and Sheridan's screenplay brilliantly dilutes Christy's autobiography into a well-paced story which covers all the major plot points successfully. Sheridan's direction really focuses on the Brown household who are all crammed into a small abode but are happy nonetheless. For a biographical film, I found My Left Foot to be visually arresting especially when Sheridan was focusing on Christy's artwork. Whilst My Left Foot isn't a particularly grand film what it does do is tell the story of an underdog in a way that is compelling but never patronising. I'm glad that the film picked up two acting awards and feel that it probably should have won Best Picture as well.
In the four years till they'd work together again, Day-Lewis was nominated for another Oscar for his part in Last of the Mohicans whilst Jim Sheridan directed The Field. Actor and director would then reconvene for In the Name of the Father, in which Day-Lewis would play the wrongly convicted Gerry Conlon who was thought to be a member of the IRA. Conlon, along with three others, went on to be known as 'The Guildford Four' as they were thought to be responsible for the Guildford Pub Bombings of 1974. Just like My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father is based on an autobiographical story by the lead character who never claims to be perfect. Conlon is a petty thief who, in the midst of the hostilities in Northern Ireland, journeys to London to be part of a free love commune. But he, along with three friends, are wrongly implicated in a bombing that happened nearby and are essentially tortured by the police until they confess. Along with the Guildford Four, seven members of Gerry's family are arrested as a supposed terror network and all are eventually convicted. Part courtroom drama and part prison film I found In the Name of the Father to primarily be a story about the love between a father and son. Although Gerry occasionally berates his dad Giuseppe, their relationship improves as they share time in prison together. As Giuseppe's health deteriorates, he calls in a campaign lawyer in an attempt to get an appeal. The lawyer Gareth Peirce is a feisty woman who finds herself bombarded by protocol and red tape until she finally discovers the truth to due to a mistake at the police station. Although it had a somewhat happy ending, In the Name of the Father was a frustrating watch at times as we knew from the start that Gerry and his friends were innocent.
Sheridan is unflinching in his depiction of the brutality inflicted on Gerry by the police and these scenes probably stuck with me the most. The editing and cinematography during these scenes is fantastic and really adds to the character's sense of disorientation. In the Name of the Father wasn't a film that I ever felt comfortable watching and instead it made me incredibly angry. Although I knew snippets of the story, watching it in this much detail was really tough. Day-Lewis demonstrates his range throughout the film as Gerry goes from happy-go-lucky thief to riotous prisoner and finally to vindicated victim. The actor constantly lets us know what his character is feeling and as the film progresses you feel even more sympathy for him. Even though Day-Lewis is excellent as always, I felt the best performance in the film came from Pete Postlethwaite as Giuseppe. Postlethwaite portrays Giuseppe as a traditional man who is found guilty purely because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The actor gives a subtle portrayal of a loving father and his descent into illness is just heartbreaking to watch. The always reliable Emma Thompson is great when she's given a chance to shine as the campaigning Mrs Peirce. In fact I would've like to have seen more from Thompson as her majority of screen time is her in a car listening to Gerry's story on her stereo. The tape recording that Gerry makes for Gareth is a great narrative device and stops the dreaded expositional voiceover from grating too much. Once again Sheridan and Day-Lewis prove they make a fine team as In the Name of the Father was nominated for a mighty seven Oscars even if it didn't win a single one.
Sheridan and Day-Lewis would go on to work together one more time however The Boxer didn't prove as fruitful as their first two outings together. Sheridan would go on to have a prolific career directing the semi-autobiographical In America as well as the 50 Cent movie Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Meanwhile Day-Lewis continued to perfect his method acting and as previously mentioned would go on to break an Oscar record, but more on that in the next decade.
Next time we witness multiple murders committed against a snowy backdrop.
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