His Left Foot
Christy Brown’s left foot in the film is actually actor Daniel Day-Lewis’ right foot shot using mirror trickery, but that is beside the point. The point is that Day-Lewis learned how to do all the things using his foot that the real life Brown was forced to learn because it was the only part of his body he could control. Without Day-Lewis being able to replicate the conditions by which Brown was forced to live, the movie would almost be pointless. The imagery of the actor showing the difficulties which Brown faced in real life is absolutely essential.
Christy the Jerk
It is easy enough to feel sympathy for Christy Brown as a result of his physical debility, especially as a result of the commitment to the role that Day-Lewis shows. In order to present Brown as a fully realized and complex human being, however, it is important to slice through that natural sympathy with imagery presenting him behaving like, well, a jerk. Without these scenes, the film would slip into oversentimentality. At the same time, this imagery also treads on the thin ice of making him less sympathetic. It is a testament to all involved that despite scenes which are disturbing, Brown still remains a character capable of eliciting our sympathy while at the same time grounding the complexity of reality.
Boy and Man
The decision was made to present Brown as both a young boy and a fully grown man. Considering that the weight of the film’s success hangs on Day-Lewis bringing Brown’s physical disability to life, this decision could have been a disaster. Had the young actor cast as Brown as a boy not been capable of a realistic performance—though clearly not to the stage which demanded so much from Day-Lewis—the whole premise could have collapsed. The scenes of Christy as a boy prove to be absolutely essential as they reveal the importance of family to Christy’s later success as an adult. The imagery of Christy’s father as he transforms before our eyes from a seemingly one-dimension antagonist of sorts into a vital component in building the family as a structural support for Christy is especially striking.
The Wheelchair
Christy obviously cannot move on his own accord and is thus dependent throughout his life upon the support and assistance of others. This proves to be an especially complex element in his life as it becomes the central paradox of his existence: he knows he cannot do without the help others but also cannot help being resistant to accepting this dependence. The dependence upon others winds up being responsible for the sympathy one feels toward him and the outbursts that serve to lessen than sympathetic view. The central image of Christy’s dependence upon others is the wheelchair because an ever-present object in his life once enough money has been raised to finally procure it for him.
