This film is part of Rentals
My Left Foot
Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his extraordinary performance as Christy Brown, the disabled Dubliner who became a writer and painter.
Director: Jim Sheridan
Overview
Jim Sheridan's Oscar-winning drama adapts the memoir of Christy Brown, the Dubliner who transcended an impoverished upbringing and cerebral palsy to become an acclaimed novelist, poet and painter. Recounting the story of how Brown overcome extreme immobility to become a serious artist, despite only having control of the use of his left foot, it’s the first of Sheridan’s three hugely successful collaborations with Daniel Day-Lewis, who won an Oscar for his efforts.
While there is no doubt about the quality of Day-Lewis' epic performance, a debate continues around the representation of disabled characters by non-disabled actors. Similar to the arguments and discussions around white actors "blacking up" with an eye to Oscar glory, some disabled actors and activists feel strongly that disability on screen and stage should only be represented by disabled people. Others argue that only attractive and well-known "star names" can bring disability-related stories to a mainstream cinema audience. But it's not just the Day-Lewis show. Sheridan vividly brings to life mid-20th-century Dublin and Brenda Fricker also deservedly won an Oscar, picking up Best Supporting Actress for her feisty turn as Brown’s resolute mother, Bridget.
Related
Jackie Jackie
Biopic 2017 100 mins Director: Pablo Larraín
Natalie Portman is exceptional as the iconic First Lady who has to quickly adjust to the world-shaking trauma of her husband’s assassination.
I, Tonya I, Tonya
Biopic 2017 120 mins Director: Craig Gillespie
Athlete. Champion. Villain. Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) played them all…
Dark Waters Dark Waters
Biopic 2019 126 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Mark Ruffalo plays an attorney trying to uncover the corporate scandal of a chemical company poisoning a local community, in this searching ecological drama from Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol).
Tracks Tracks
Biopic 2014 113 mins Director: John Curran
Mia Wasikowska stars in this inspirational true story about one woman’s extraordinary odyssey through the Australian Outback.
Mr. Turner Mr. Turner
Biopic 2014 150 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh’s Cannes-winning account of the later years of J. M. W. Turner, brilliantly played by Timothy Spall.
Vice Vice
Biopic 2018 133 mins Director: Adam McKay
Christian Bale is the infamous Dick Cheney, in Adam ‘The Big Short’ McKay’s exuberant and acrid satire.
Notes on Blindness Notes on Blindness
Documentary 2016 87 mins Director: James Spinney and Peter Middleton
James Spinney and Peter Middleton's highly original documentary uses cinematic interpretations and textured sound design to express a ‘world beyond sight.’
The Possibilities Are Endless The Possibilities Are Endless
Documentary 2014 83 mins Director: Edward Lovelace and James Hall
A moving and haunting account of singer Edwyn Collins’s long and difficult recovery from a stroke.
Power in Our Hands Power in Our Hands
Documentary 2016 75 mins Director: Angela Spielsinger
Ground-breaking documentary that uses archive film to tell the story of the British Deaf community’s fight for civil rights.
Disabled Disabled
Documentary 1967 14 mins Director: Vic Hughes
Paul Hunt, the Rosa Parks of the UK disability rights movement, talks about living in a disabling society.
Behindert Behindert
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 98 mins Director: Stephen Dwoskin
The account of a close, personal relationship as experienced by a disabled man.
Mandy Mandy
Drama 1952 93 mins Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Alexander Mackendrick's drama about a deaf girl and her unstable family life is remarkably unsentimental while still packing an emotional punch.
No Other Land No Other Land
Documentary 2024 92 mins Director: Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.