My Left Foot 4

qualities do typical Hollywood heroes
have? Who decides what these qualities
should be? 
3 In what ways is Christy a typical
cinematic hero? In what ways is he
untypical? Do you think he is a hero?
Why/Why not? 
4
My Left Foot 
is the story of Christy’s
struggle to be accepted and understood.
What are some of the difficulties that he
encounters? How do these obstacles help
him develop as a person? 
5 Read Hamlet’s speech (Act 3, Scene 1) 
in Appendix III. Why does Eileen choose
this speech in particular? What do you
think are the similarities/differences
between Christy and Hamlet? 
1
Film Noir 
is a style of film making popular in America
in the 1940s and 1950s in which a central male
character is frequently defeated by his own egoism
and/or a more cunning female – known as a femme
fatale. In these films the male character mistakes
himself for the hero only to be outwitted and very often
killed. Examples of the genre include 
Double Indemnity
(1944) and 
Sunset Boulevard
(1950)

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The Hero’s Story 
In many films the story is told through the eyes of the hero. This is achieved with the following devices:
1
the camera remains with the character as much as possible; s/he should be part of the action on screen. 
2
the use of close-up shots of this character’s face. 
3
the use of the point of view shot. 
There are several scenes in this film in which these devices are used. When Christy alerts the neighbours of his
mother’s fall (Sequence 2), there are examples of all three as follows: