Alternative to What: "My Left Foot" (1989)

Left to right: Brenda Fricker and Daniel Day Lewis

Welcome to Alternative to What: a weekly column that tries to find a great alternative to driving to the multiplexes. Based on releases of that week, the selections will either be thematically related or feature recurring cast and crew. The goal is to help you better understand the diversity of cinema and hopefully find you some favorites while saving a few bucks. At worse, this column will save you money. Expect each installment to come out on Fridays, unless specified. 

THIS WEEK:

My Left Foot (1989)

- Alternative To -

The Theory of Everything (2014)

If this one seems a little too on the nose, it is because I have felt this way about The Theory of Everything since I first saw the trailers for it all those months ago. To me, it looks like a cornball experience about Stephen Hawking falling in love. Is there really a compelling story to accompany it? Yes, he is one of science's greatest minds, but I don't feel like watching a man become crippled is exactly the most exciting of subject matters for a film. In fact, the romance that precedes the actual disease is a little more familiar and doesn't grab me at all. What's the point of this film besides to be very blatant Oscar bait? I must have some answers.

It could also be that the definitive handicapped performance has already happened 25 years ago. There is a reason that Daniel Day Lewis is considered one of the greatest actors of all time. While there's a few so-so films in his later years such as Lincoln and Nine, there's also ferocious energy that when he's on, he's on. While There Will Be Blood is more revered by modern audiences, My Left Foot is a performance that is so convincing and so powerful that it has to be seen to be believed. In the vast array of performers who have played people with disabilities, Lewis is the only one who convincingly pulled off cerebral palsy.

I am not saying that Hawking has the same disease. However, this is more of a comparison between how to handle a biopic of a famous writer who has a disability to their credit. In the case of My Left Foot, Christy Brown is only able to control his left foot for the better portion of his life. He becomes an intelligent writer that is capable of great things. As the story progresses from his youth into the current era in which Lewis plays him, things become more fascinating and heartbreaking simultaneously. Along the way, it is a phenomenal, unforgettable performance.

There's so much to admire about the film. It's about somebody who overcame their disabilities to make a difference in the world. Much like Hawking, we recognize his inability to do certain functions. However, he is so much more. He is complicated and does his best to focus on living a normal life. There's something powerful about the film and something that director Jim Sheridan finds as he revisits Irish families later in his career with In America. There's a familial quality to everything that creates a deeper, richer texture to the film. It questions relationships and demands us to be better towards each other.

While I have yet to see The Theory of Everything, I can attest that it is hard to really find too many films that feel authentic to the physical handicap spectrum. Even those movies that are really good have a few unconvincing features. I am not sure if this latest one will fall into that category. However, I doubt that anything will ever really come as close to perfection as Lewis' Christy Brown. Trust me. You may not find his achievements as great as Hawking's, but they definitely are brought to life in a powerful way that makes Brown's achievements more timeless because you won't forget Lewis' performance and thus you won't forget about Brown.