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Tuesday 24 February 2015

Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot

As the Oscar for Best actor this year has just been awarded to Eddie Redmayne for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, I'd like to remind people of another actor who has also won an Oscar for playing a physically disabled person, Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown in My Left Foot. Christy Brown's an Irish writer and painter who had cerebral palsy and had to do everything with his left foot.
Here are some videos of the film:





Daniel Day-Lewis receiving his 1st Oscar:


Meeting the press afterwards:


While I feel uncertain about Eddie Redmayne, Daniel Day-Lewis has proven again and again and again and again, in The Last of the Mohicans, in The Name of the Father, in Gangs of New York, in There Will Be Blood, in Lincoln..., and also in his earlier films, My Beautiful Laundrette, A Room with a View, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, etc, that he's the best actor we've got today, as we had Marlon Brando in the golden age of Hollywood, that he makes himself disappear and transforms so magically into his characters that it's difficult to believe they are all portrayed by the same person, that he elevates the art of acting to a higher level, that he sets a higher standard and makes one realise how most other actors only play themselves on the screen. 
Praising Daniel Day-Lewis is never overpraising. 
He may not be know by many people- people are more familiar with Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Christian Bale, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Tom Hanks, etc. but that doesn't matter. Daniel Day-Lewis is not a movie star, and he's more than an actor, he's an artist. 
If that still doesn't make you want to check out My Left Foot, here is a review by Roger Ebert:
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/my-left-foot-1990
And on Rotten Tomatoes, the rating is 97%: 
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_left_foot/
If you haven't watched this film, it should be in your TBW list. 

2 comments:

  1. Do you think films that makes into all time great lists are lacking in his filmography, deniro, pacino, brando, mifune in comparison had a better filmography.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Daniel Day-Lewis's performances are always much better than the films he's in, yes.

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