My Left Foot (1989)
95%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: Won 2 Oscars
23 wins & 20 nominations total
No doubt most will come to My Left Foot for Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance, but the movie’s refusal to go downbeat will keep it in viewer minds afterwards.
My Left Foot is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate the little things in life. Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance is so good, you’ll forget he’s not actually a man with cerebral palsy. The direction by Jim Sheridan is tough, but not as tough as Christy Brown’s life. This movie is a spellbinding journey that will leave you with an overwhelming sense of the miraculousness of life and of this man’s spirit. So take courage and see it if you can, because it is one of the most remarkable films of the year. Plus, who doesn’t love a good showoff star getting outshined by a brilliant actor?
Production Company(ies)
Ferndale Films, Granada Television, Hell’s Kitchen Films,
Distributor
Miramax Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1990
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 43m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United Kingdom, Ireland
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 10, 1989 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 16, 2005
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Daniel Day-Lewis, directed by Jim Sheridan, written by x, biography, cerebral palsy, painter, poet, author, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Ruth McCabe, Fiona Shaw, Eanna Macliam, Miramax Films, Noel Pearson, $14.5M, R rating, reviewed by Bill Cosford, Peter Travers, Sheila Benson, Variety Staff, Angie Errigo, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Mike Massie, David Sterritt, Bruce C Steele, Hilary Mantel, Andrea Beach, Jeff Beck, 98% Tomatometer, 92% Audience Score, Being There, The Big Sleep, Harold and Maude, All the President’s Men, Look Back in Anger
Worldwide gross: $14,743,391
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $33,989,257
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,505
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,706,571
US/Canada gross: $14,743,391
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $33,989,257
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,231
US/Canada opening weekend: $41,165
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $94,901
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,951
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): £600,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ray McAnally – Mr. Brown
Brenda Fricker – Mrs. Brown
Ruth McCabe – Mary
Fiona Shaw – Dr. Eileen Cole
Eanna Macliam – Benny
Director(s)
Jim Sheridan
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Noel Pearson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
23 wins & 20 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (1)
[Daniel Day-Lewis’s] performance is extraordinary for its subtleties over the obvious physical manifestations The direction by Jim Sheridan is tough-edged.
August 16, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Bill Cosford
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
It’s the kind of role that showoff stars leap at. Luckily for the film and us, an actor got there first.
June 12, 2020
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
It is a spellbinding journey.
June 12, 2020
Sheila Benson
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
All performances are on the mark in this perfect little film.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
[The film] leaves one with an overwhelming sense of the miraculousness of life and of this man’s spirit.
March 10, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
For all his character’s travails the film as a whole winds up surprisingly upbeat.
March 10, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The story is consistently eye-opening, moving, and utterly engaging.
September 6, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
It’s Day-Lewis who lights up the screen most brilliantly.
June 12, 2020
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor
[Jim Sheridan’s] inconspicuous but affecting direction filters through the well-drawn characters (played by a uniformly brilliant cast).
May 19, 2020
Bruce C. Steele
OutWeek
You may not want to see My Left Foot, fearing that it will be too harrowing and possibly too sentimental. There are times when it is both, but take courage and see it if you can, because it is one of the most remarkable films of the year.
April 9, 2019
Hilary Mantel
The Spectator
Gritty yet uplifting tale of artist with cerebral palsy.
April 1, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
Andrea Beach
Common Sense Media
Despite fine performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, My Left Foot is a middling biopic that takes a rather superficial look at the extraordinary life of Christy Brown, never daring to go deeper into what made him tick.
January 12, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Jeff Beck
Examiner.com…
Plot
Christy Brown is born with cerebral palsy to a large, poor Irish family. His mother, Mrs. Brown, recognizes the intelligence and humanity in the lad everyone else regards as a vegetable. Eventually, Christy matures into a cantankerous artist who uses his dexterous left foot to write and paint.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Daniel Day-Lewis won an Academy Award for his performance as Christy Brown in My Left Foot.
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