My Left Foot at first seems like the kind of movie that you'd see on Hallmark: a based-on-a-true-story film of a handicapped man going through life, trying to achieve his dream. This movie is not a Hallmark movie-of-the-week. It merits the Best Picture nomination it got.
It's about the life of Christy Brown, an artist born with cerebral palsy in Ireland. The only part of his body he can control is his left foot, which he would eventually use to paint and type. He can't speak very clearly, but his mother never has trouble understanding him. He meets Eileen, a therapist who specialises in helping handicapped people move and speak, who helps him. This movie follows Christy's life, so that's all I'm going to say, lest I spoil too many moments.
I've heard people say that to win a Best Actor Oscar, all a guy has to do is play a handicapped person. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Christy Brown and won an Oscar for his performance. After five minutes, I knew that he had earned that Oscar. He plays Christy which such passion that he completely disappeared into the part, as he does in nearly all of his roles. His Christy doesn't want a psychology lecture about the dangers of smoking, he just wants a cigarette. So many words have been said about his performance that I won't say any more, only that he conveyed all the emotion that you would expect in a part like that. (Seriously, where was an Oscar for the kid who played young Christy? I completely believed that those two were the same character, such was the strength of both performances.)
The script never dips into sentimentality. Christy becomes depressed at times because of his situation and locks himself in his room and hides under the blankets. He drinks, gets into bar fights, and even tries to commit suicide. I can't explain how much of a relief it is to see a handicapped person portrayed as having the same emotions and life concerns as non-handicapped people. Too often in stories like these, the principal goal of the protagonist is to be accepted as a normal person and to overcome afflictions to achieve great things. Christy already is accepted as a regular person: the village boys include him in a bonfire celebration and want him on their soccer teams because he's a good goalie and kicker. Christy reacts to rejections from girls just as anyone else would. The problems he has to get over are his own feelings of self-pity and worthlessness. This focus elevates My Left Foot above other films of this nature. Most people accept him just fine--it's his own nature he has to rise above.
This is a compliment I will probably never bestow on any other movie, nor have I seen anyone else make this kind of compliment, but I focus on things others don't normally focus on in this blog, and here it is: My Left Foot boasts excellent usage of the 'f' word.
Profanity itself can be used to benefit a movie. A precision curse word can drive a serious point home well. I.e. if a character has never sworn before and then suddenly says, "Stop f---ing around!" then the others will listen to that person. Such words can also be used to add a bit of strength to a phrase at a critical moment. Many movies use profanity far too often. Why is this a problem? Repeated use of a set of a few words shows a lack of creativity on the part of the writers and the actors, and hearing the same word 420 times in a film get grating. (That's the f word count I got for Casino...........it was a slow day) My Left Foot utilizes profanity to its greatest benefits.
There are two cases I'd like to mention. First: Christy is in his room. Eileen knocks on his door, offering to help him with speech therapy at home. Christy tells her to "f--- off." Eileen responds that if he lets her in, she can teach him to say "f--- off" more clearly, which makes him laugh and let her in. The writers turn his insult into a joke and a bonding experience for two of the characters.
Even better is the restaurant scene where (SPOILER WARNING) Christy declares his love for Eileen, who tells him that she is engaged to Peter. Eileen says that she loves Christy, but he understands that it is platonic love, which he has had all his life. (END WARNING) And you know what he thinks about that? "F--- Plato and f--- all love that's not one hundred percent commitment." It expresses the depth of betrayal he feels and how much he desperately wants the romantic love that others have. He's sick of the pity he gets from those around him and wants the love that "normal" people get. A controlled use of profanity here enhances the drama and the seriousness of Christy's feelings. Without it, the characters and the viewers might not pay Christy as much serious attention. Such is his desire that when he writes the simple sentence "Be with me" to another girl, it makes a huge impact on us. We know how much he desires romantic love and companionship and we want someone to see his desire and love him in return. Those few words express so much more than many other loquacious love declarations in movies.
That was a shorter review than usual, but I've said what I wanted to say. I recommend My Left Foot to anyone who appreciates good acting and human drama.
(My Left Foot. Dir. Jim Sheridan, Miramax Films, 1989. With Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker)
No comments:
Post a Comment