Based on a true story, the film focuses on an Irish man named Christy Brown. He has cerebral palsy and can only control his left foot.

He goes somewhere where there is going to be a performance. While waiting, a woman named Sharon opens a book about Christy’s life and shares it with him.

Then the scene switches back to when Christy was born. His father comes to visit him. The doctors reveal that he is significantly disabled.

Years have passed. Christy is at his house while his family is doing their normal things. Christy tries to experiment with what he can do with his left foot.

Later, some kids are pushing him around in a barrel and having fun. But eventually, it needs to end.

At some point, Christy’s mom falls down the stairs while in labor. Although he is unable to speak, Christy manages to let others know that his mother needs help.

Some time later, Christy’s mom takes him to church, where there is a candle-lighting. Then there is a bonfire outside and kids dressed in scary costumes.

More time has passed. Christy’s family celebrates his 17th birthday. He does struggle to blow out all his candles but eventually succeeds.

The scene switches to some other kids around Christy’s age trying to play ball with him. However, they aren’t always a good influence on him.

Christy’s father doesn’t always believe in him. However, Christy eventually writes the word, “Mother” with chalk in between the toes of his left foot. He also discovers a passion for painting.

Unfortunately, his dad loses his job. This makes it tough for the whole family.

Christy comes home covered in filth. His mom also finds out that he somehow has been stealing and scolds him for that.

On the bright side, she finally saved enough money to buy Christy a wheelchair. She also finds him a doctor named Dr. Eileen Cole, who takes him to a special school for those with cerebral palsy. She also helps him improve his speech.

As an extra favor, Dr. Cole convinces a friend of hers to hold an exhibition of Christy’s paintings. People are impressed.

Christy also has feelings for Dr. Cole. But when he is out to dinner with her and her fiancé, he gets out of hand and drinks a lot. Then he is wheeled out of the restaurant.

His mom is kind enough to build him his own room. Sadly, his dad dies right after due to a stroke.

How will Christy’s life continue?

Despite the strong premise of the story, I will admit that the beginning of it was a little bit boring. It was not always easy for me to stay focused.

On the bright side, the scenes switched very quickly. Rather than being a traditional narrative, the film focused on different parts in Christy’s life. After all, this was a real-life situation.

I felt sorry for Christy. Not only did he have a major disability, but his parents didn’t always understand him—especially his dad. Even his mom would get impatient with him at times. But he did have a nice relationship with his siblings, Sharon, and Dr. Cole.

Speaking of which, the present did occasionally come back during the movie, with Sharon talking to Christy about his life.

I also was impressed with how talented Christy was at painting, particularly with his left foot. I also found it interesting that he was eventually able to talk, even if it was so late in his life.

I am impressed with how Daniel Day Lewis portrayed Christy. Although this came out in the 80s, when standards for filmmaking and storytelling were different than today, I do wish an actor with cerebral palsy had a chance to play him. Not only would it have made his character more authentic but it would have also been more inclusive and allowed disabled actors to be in the spotlight.

Overall, I thought My Left Foot was a good movie worth watching. Note that it is rated R for language, smoking, drinking, and brief nudity. But to be honest, the film was quite mild for its rating. There were only some uses of the F-word and other swear words. As for the nudity, it was just a second of a naked woman in a magazine.

Anyway, I give this film 4 out of 5 stars.