daniel day lewis be christy brown and a victim of cerebral palsy who use my left foot to write and paint in this incredible 1989 film . the movie also star brenda fricker a christy mother and ray mcanally and fiona shaw and hugh oconor . their brilliant performance and great script and wonderful direction by jim sheridan help to paint a vivid portrait of christy brown and an artist and writer who die in 1981 at the age of 49. brown be bear into a low middle class catholic family where his mother be constantly pregnant ( 22 child in total and 13 of whom survive ) . his father consider christy mentally retard as well a physically handicap and but he would not permit his son to go into a home . the child in the family would bid goodbye to him each day a they go off to school and and then his mother would fee him and talk to him . in the movie and fricker convey the sense of a woman who and despite be surround by a huge family and need someone to talk to . christy doesn not talk back . eventually a cart be find for him to ride in and and the neighborhood kid and all of whom have know him since he be a baby and include him in all of their activity . the only part of his body that work really well be his left foot and and when the kid find out how well he kick and they put him into soccer game for just that purpose . one of the nice part of the film be the relaxed way the in which the other child treat him . there be many powerful scene and but none as powerful a christy write mother on the floor hold a piece of chalk between his toe . he a true brown and his father declares and hoist him on his shoulder and carry him to the pub . walk into the pub and he announce and my son a genius . thing change when christy grow old because he have a young boy desire and emotion . he develop crush and be reject and go more into himself and turn to paint . eventually he go into therapy in a nearby clinic and work with a therapist and eileen ( fiona shaw ) at home . he fall in love with her . when he find out she engage and he nearly go crazy . but he survive to live and to paint and to write ( three book in total ) and to love again . because it a film and by necessity certain thing have to be leave out and character combine . brown wasn not actually diagnose with cerebral palsy for some time and which be leave out of the movie . the therapist eileen be actually a combination of three important therapeutic figure in christy life and and though we know that his mother believe he have a good mind and in truth and she work very hard with christy when he be a child teach him the alphabet and etc . also and before mary and christy have a 12 year relationship with the woman to whom he dedicate my left foot . and the typical hollywood end and 9 year before his death where neglect by his wife may have be a factor and doesn not finish the story . despite all of that and christy brown biopic be incredibly powerful and all the more so because of two performance represent hugh oconor a young christy and daniel day lewis a the adult christy . oconor facial expression and the way he drag his warped body be gut wrench . one be exhaust for him and heartbroken at the same time . and what can be say about daniel day lewis and one of the great actor in the world he bring christy totally to life and a fully flesh out and intelligent human be capable of swearing and become angry and bitter and drunk and pushy and lecherous and funny and love . a well deserve oscar won in the same year that tom cruise be nominate for bear on the fourth of july . i remember someone write a letter to the editor somewhere that cruise be so sensational and what be wrong with the academy . uh and nothing for a change . nothing at all . brenda fricker be amazing a christy mother and who never stop believe in him and what he can do and who hold her family and husband together during the hard time . the wonderful thing about fricker performance be that the support and love and work ethic seem to come naturally to the mother . the character would never consider herself a heroine or a someone do something out of the ordinary . fricker show u a religious but not fanatic woman who believe her duty on earth be to be a good wife and mother . and no matter what and even when her husband be out of work and throw their daughter out of the house for be pregnant and whatever and she manage . she save money for christy wheelchair and she receive photo of her daughter and the baby and she start build a room for christy in the back of the house . all part of a day work . a performance worthy of the oscar she receive . brown life be more complicated than this inspiring film and but this be an amazing achievement by all involve and a must see .