Volume 1 (1999/2000)
Issue
1 (March 1999)
Issue
2 (Nov. 1999)
Issue 3 (Dec. 1999)
Issue 4 (Feb. 2000)
Issue 5 (March 2000)
Issue 6 (April 2000)
Issue
7 (May 2000)
Volume 2 (2000/2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2000)
Issue 2 (Oct. 2000)
Issue 3 (Jan. 2001)
Issue 4 (March 2001)
Issue 5 (April 2001)
Issue 6 (May 2001)
Volume 3 (2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2001)
Issue 2 (Nov. 2001)
Categories
Sport: 1
2 3
Lifestyles: 1 2
3
Commentary: 1 2
3
Review: 1 2
3
Writing: 1 2
3
Event: 1 2
3
My Left Foot
Alan Early
Marian College, Mohill, Co. Leitrim
The new English Leaving Cert Course includes
a list of five films to study. Alan Early reviews them:
Dances with Wolves
Cinema Paradiso
Room With A View
My Left Foot
The Third Man
Christy Brown's memoirs of the same name provide the basis for this movie.
It was nominated for five major Oscars in 1989 and won two, Best Actor
and Best Supporting Actress.
This
film tells the true story of Dublin-born Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis).
His mother gave birth to 22 children and while he was one of the lucky
13 to survive, he was born with cerebral palsy. Although his father treated
him as a dimwitted outcast, his mother (Brenda Fricker) treated him as
she did her other children, with great love. The story really takes off
when 'paralysed' Christy begins to write on the wooden floor with a piece
of chalk held firmly in his left foot. We see Christy develop from a disfigured
'halfwit' to a complete genius in writing, art and poetry.
The story is more than a tale about Christy's triumph, though. It is
also the inspiring story of Christy's mother, who succeeded beyond all
expectations to raise her 13 children in terrible poverty. She proves
that greatness can come from despair. The film is full of extremely touching
moments. For instance, in a scene where Christy starts shouting in a restaurant,
the camera pans around to show the reactions of his dinner companions.
They have a look of utter discomfort.
Day-Lewis won a Best Actor for his performance and rightly so. Aside
from anything else, it took a lot out of him physically. Fricker won the
Best Supporting Actress and she also deserved it for her performance of
a strong woman. However, it's not a sentimental TV movie. Christy doesn't
have the answer to the meaning of life. In fact, we see him after the
events of his life (the film is told in flash-back) and he is a bit of
a 'smart alec' at times. No, this film is something else altogether. It
is a story of love, a story of despair and a story of hope.