My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown

"A film about life, laughter, and the occasional miracle."

1989 1h 43m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🔥

98%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 1,066🍅98%Rotten Tomatoes●97Metacritic★7.8IMDB · 83,993

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

No one expects much from Christy Brown, a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age of 5, he demonstrates control of his left foot by using chalk to scrawl a word on the floor. With the help of his steely mother — and no shortage of grit and determination — Christy overcomes his infirmity to become a painter, poet and author.

“A film about life, laughter, and the occasional miracle.”

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Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis
Christy Brown
Brenda Fricker
Mrs. Brown
Alison Whelan
Sheila
Kirsten Sheridan
Sharon
Declan Croghan
Tom
Eanna MacLiam
Benny
Marie Conmee
Sadie
Cyril Cusack
Lord Castlewelland

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jim Sheridan
Writers: Shane Connaughton, Jim Sheridan
Languages: English
Countries: Ireland, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $15M — a 22.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jim Sheridan, shot by Jack Conroy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor J. Patrick Duffner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker and Alison Whelan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jim Sheridan directs. Jack Conroy behind the camera. Elmer Bernstein scores. J. Patrick Duffner cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Ireland, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $15M — a 22.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
337 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom.
5Directed by Jim Sheridan, shot by Jack Conroy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor J. Patrick Duffner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker and Alison Whelan carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A film about life, laughter, and the occasional miracle.".
10IMDB entry: tt0097937 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "bodily disabled person", "poet", "biography", "based on true story".
12Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Conroy
Original score: Elmer Bernstein
Editing: J. Patrick Duffner
Production design: Austen Spriggs
Costume design: Joan Bergin
Makeup / hair: Anne Dunne
Stunt coordinator: Peter Brayham
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $645,180
Box office: $14,743,391
Return: 2285% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 97/100
IMDB rating: 7.8/10 · 83,993 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Won 2 Oscars. 23 wins & 20 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Actor

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jim Sheridan

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-01-25
★ 7/10
There's a pretty fine line between mimicry and acting, and acting that's natural and that which has been rehearsed to within an inch of it's life. I think it's very much the natural that Daniel Day-Lewis delivers here, as does Hugh O'Conor as his younger persona, as we learn of the upbringing of a young lad born with very limited movement and learning difficulties, but a mind that's clearly sharp and a face that's expressive. His family, a typically large one, is headed up by his dad (Ray McAnally) who presents us with a variation on the usual theme of father who comes home from work then hits the pub, then the family. He's ultimately a loving man who deeply cares for his young son, as does his mam (Brenda Fricker) who must juggle the plates of her other children, making ends meet and gradually understanding and providing for the stimulation that their young son "Christy" is clearly craving. It's moving but not in a sentimental way; it looks at an Irish society that can be hugely judgemental but also hugely kind. It personifies well the difficulties faced by many a working class family, even those with solely abled-bodied members; it questions some of the more traditional "Christian" values of a community and intimately tells us a touching story of achievement against the odds arrayed against a young man whose very survival isn't to be taken for granted. It's not a weepy, it's a positive celebration and well worth a watch - ideally on a big screen because the attention to the detail around this production and both McAnally and Fricker's equally as evocative performances as the title one all really do merit it.

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