#104 - My Left Foot

And the schizophrenia continues. If I remember correctly, this movie was fifth on my queue list when it was sent to me. On top of that, the movies that it jumped over should have been sent a while ago. Instead of boring you with the same old rant, I will give some kudos to blockbuster.com, but also voice a concern. The kudos that they deserve are for their delivery speed. I don't know what they did because the enevlopes are the same, but I have been having a tremendously good streak of one day turn arounds for deliveries and returns. It had been two days, which is nice, but one is even better. I know that Netflix advertises a one day delivery, but that's not what I have and I can only base my response on what I know. One thing I do know is that all DVD's not readily available can REALLY cause problems when it comes to multiple disc sets. This is my concern. I have a three disc set coming up that, unlike the Beasties Video Anthology, is very disc order specific. And wouldn't you know it, as of right now, the first disc is not readily available, and for some reason, this is one of the sets that isn't locked in to be sent in order. I just know that they are gonna send the other two discs first and I am going to have to sit on them until the first one decides to show up. That means that I would essentially be down to one disc at a time. One step forward, two steps back. But I endure because I have seen the worst already, and nothing that happens with this list can compare to what this list has already done to me. How about we talk about this movie?

My first impression of this movie was that it was very good. I though it was well made, well acted, written, directed, and all that stuff. The more I thought about it, and it is quite thought provoking, I enjoyed it more and more. The attention to detail and the filmmakers commitment to their storytelling is amazing, but there is something that stood out to me. I guess I am used to Hollywood movies with a disadvantaged main character where they force feed the sympathy, as if you couldn't have some yourself. This movie does not do that. Okay, let's play catch up for those who don't already know. My Left Foot is based on the autobiography by Christy Brown, who happens to have been born with Cerebral Palsy and only has full use of his left leg. He wrote the whole book using...have you guessed yet...my left foot...no...wait...his left foot. Anyways, I get the feeling that Christy Brown does not ask for sympathy when telling his story, and this movie does not either. It's basically his story of how he learned to be a human being despite his tremendous disadvantages. There is no pity. There is no heart break. There is tremendous internal strength by Christy himself, and his entire family.

I can't finish this review without talking about the Oscar winners in this movie. It is purely coincidence that I am writing this the day after sitting through the snoozefest that they put out as the Oscar broadcast this year. I could easily rant on and on about that, but I have chosen not to because I just don't feel. Do keep in mind that this is a criticism of the Oscar broadcast overall. Ellen was good, but the only Oscar nominated movies I have been able to see were Cars and Children of Men. Talk about schizo. Anywho, the Oscar winners in this movie were Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker. While I don't know who the other nominees were, and haven't taken the time to see who else was nominated, I can honestly say that they absolutely deserved them. Lewis was amazingly able to recreate the uncontrolable actions of a palsy victim. But it wasn't a caricature. There was never a time when I felt he was showing us a palsy victim. It was so unbelievably honest and in the midst of it, he was able to show us a human being with great frustration, heart, determination, and charm. Forrest Gump and Rainman ain't got nothin on this guy. And the kid playing a young Christy Brown was amazing also. And Brenda Fricker, man oh man. She's one of those actresses that you see all the time, usually in some sort of matronly role. Well, she is phenomenal. The struggle of not knowing what exactly to do in the face of hardship, yet willingness to do whatever it takes, and with a smile. The struggle of someone who knows what a cruel world it is because she has lived it and therefore is afraid to let her son out into it, even though the reward is probably greater than the risk. The struggle to support your child, even though you have little hope that he could ever lead what is considered a normal life. She portrays all of that, and a tremendous amount more. And she makes it look it easy. It's so subtle, and is a wonderful complement to Lewis' performance. I can't say that there has never been a movie like this before, but I sure haven't seen anything like it.