Thursday, March 31, 2016

My Left Foot (1989)


Academy Awards, USA 1990

Won
Oscar
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Brenda Fricker
Nominated
Oscar
Best Picture
Noel Pearson
Best Director
Jim Sheridan
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Jim Sheridan
Shane Connaughton

Miramax
Directed by Jim Sheridan
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Image Entertainment)

A boy with cerebral palsy is raised in a large Irish family, adored by his doting mother but initially rejected by his hard-drinking father. As a teenager, the boy teaches himself to write, and paint, with his only controllable limb: his left foot. He becomes a successful artist and author and achieves fame in his native country. Daniel Day Lewis gives a remarkable physical performance, apparently he often refused to come out of character during production. While eliciting sympathy, Lewis' character can also be quite unlikable: he is prone to violent, alcohol fueled, outbursts. For some reason, many interior scenes are harshly overlit. Nonetheless, Lewis' performance alone overcomes these shortcomings.

No comments:

Post a Comment