My Left Foot (1989) on Netflix
Born with cerebral palsy into a working-class Dublin family, Christy Brown cannot walk or talk. Only his left foot obeys him. At five he scrawls a word in chalk on the floor.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.8/1085,995 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes98%
Trailer
Plot summary
Christy Brown is born in 1932 into a Dublin family of fifteen children. Doctors find that he has severe cerebral palsy. He cannot walk or talk, and he controls only his left foot; his speech comes out as guttural sounds. For his first ten years, people believe he is intellectually disabled. His mother keeps him with the family and cares for him. At five, he takes a piece of chalk and writes the word mother on the floor with his left foot.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about My Left Foot (1989)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Daniel Day-Lewis insisted on staying in character throughout the production, refusing to do anything Brown could not do, which meant crew members had to move him around in a wheelchair, lift him over obstacles and even feed him.
- In 2015 The Hollywood Reporter polled hundreds of Academy members on past controversial decisions, and they indicated that, given a second chance, they would award the 1990 Best Picture Oscar to My Left Foot instead of Driving Miss Daisy.
- Day-Lewis could only manipulate his right foot to perform the actions seen in the film, so many scenes had to be filmed through a mirror to make the performance read correctly.
- My Left Foot was released to critical acclaim and commercial success, grossing $14.7 million on a budget of only £600,000.
- In 2018 the British Film Institute ranked My Left Foot as the 53rd greatest British film of the 20th century.
- Daniel Day-Lewis stayed in character as Christy Brown throughout the shoot, refusing to do anything Brown could not do, so crew members had to wheel him around in a wheelchair, lift him over obstacles and even feed him.
- Because Daniel Day-Lewis could only manipulate his right foot, while the actions he performs as Brown are done with the left, many scenes were filmed through a mirror.
- In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter asked hundreds of Academy members to re-vote on past controversial Oscar decisions; given a second chance, they said they would have given the 1990 Best Picture award to My Left Foot instead of Driving Miss Daisy.
