My Left Foot: The Power of Contempt

I think the two great actors of our times have stark contradictory Characteristics. One of them Tom Hanks, indifferent, seems to be blowing in the wind of the circumstances. The Other Daniel Day Lewis, Indulged, always seems bothered by them. And when I talk about the latter, what comes to me is contempt in the eyes of the actor, and the power that the contempt generates.

I start talking about this contradiction, because, I saw My Left Foot and at the end of it, I went back to its paradox, Forrest Gump. And what came to me, is how one completes other and how each of them, is homage to what the lead actors in them represent.

Enough has been said and written about the Forrest Gump and it features in the Favorite Movie section of most of the people I know.

But I think what stops, My Left Foot, from being such a favorite, is its indulgence. A third person observation would rate Daniel Day Lewis’s performance as one of the greatest, and by god, I vouch for it. But, it is not a situation you would like to be. The character is conflicted, has his flaws, and is so much bothered by his surroundings. We all are. Hence, though you can identify with him, you do not want to be him.

Daniel Day Lewis brings about a contradiction, named Christy Brown on screen. A man you start pitying for his physical disabilities. And then he delivers your pity a knockout punch, because he overcomes them for his own sweet achievements and arrogantly tells you how wrong you were for your pity. This is a masterwork of sheer contempt, where your ideas and conventions of pity are shown their way.

Some of the moments of the movie would seem exaggerated, but I guess it is not about moments.

The story is about a man suffering from cerebral palsy from childhood. The only functional organ is his left foot, with which he paints. A very exhilarating and eventually frustrating moment of the movie is when Christy tries to explain, what is quarter of a quarter, and when nobody understands what he has written.

But I think these are just proceedings and the motive is just the character. It is not about his achievements but his reactions to the journey.It is just about how the man lives those moments.

He holds your attention when he is on. He is a cripple, every legible word he speaks, you take as a boon. He is arrogant, not a pleasant company, always, and he is determined. And while you watch these proceedings, you hate the person, then you pity him, and then you feel exhilarated at his victories.

Then you again feel pity, because the arrogance of his victories does help him accept that he would never have a female for a company. What makes it all human, is the failed tries to get female attention, and the inevitable expectation, he has from those females to give as much love as his mother.

When an actor is able to take you through so many contradictory feelings, it is you who is at test to determine your true thought about the man.

Then there are his eyes. You would just go on watching them and know what is happening to him. They are at their majestic best when they are angry, they laugh when he is happy. There is so much power on the screen that you forget the disability of the character he plays, and just admire.

One of my reviewer friends once said, that the best stories are about contradictions. I cannot agree more. Contradictions are what make us the people that we are. And if you want a powerful example, go watch Daniel Day Lewis, playing Christy Brown on screen. He is sheer power of contempt on screen and you just end up being slaves of that master act.