The movie focuses on the story of Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy. The plot setting of the movie primarily takes place in Dublin, Ireland. Christy is raised in Irish slums depicting the harsh life of disabled persons born within poor settings. Every person, save for his mother, loses hope with Christy. Christy’s mother discerns the hidden intelligence and potential in her son at a very young age. In contrast, Christy’s father has no hope for his son. At the age of six, Christy is eager to write and uses his left foot to draw on the floor.
The scene in which he is shown writing his first word with chalk fixed in the toes of his left foot is analogous to another scene observed later in the film. In both scenes, Christy is displayed lying on the floor looking exhausted. Although in the former scene Christy is presented lying alone, the latter shows him lying beside his father. Subsequent to the first scene, Christy’s father is seen accusing his wife of giving Christy false hopes. However, in the second scene, Christy’s father is portrayed to have accepted the ability of his son. The initial scene is used as a reference to the eventual scene. The director’s objective is to communicate the narrative with the viewers through certain emotions.
Christy’s condition places him between the rock and hard place on matters of love. Social skills struggles that come with such a disease make Christy mistake normal love for romantic love. For instance, when he gets a kiss from a girl, Christy starts longing for her. In fact, he draws a nice picture and decides to gift it to the girl. However, when his advances are declined, Christy becomes depressed. In another incidence, Christy misconstrues Dr. Cole’s professional interest as romantic love. Ultimately, when Dr. Cole announces her engagement to another man, Christy becomes suicidal. Such challenges are inevitable to disabled people. The movie gives the audience an insight into how to cope with the issues concerning disabilities.
