The reviews are unanimous, and the praise clusters almost entirely around Daniel Day-Lewis. Most critics single out the precision of his re-creation of Christy Brown’s cerebral palsy and the absence of showiness: what comes through is a cussed, funny, hard-drinking man rather than an affliction. Hugh O’Conor, playing Brown as a boy, is named alongside him in several reviews, as are Ray McAnally and Brenda Fricker in support. Several also note that the film is funnier and earthier than its subject suggests, which is what keeps it from harrowing.
Reservations are few and small. Time Out points out that the film takes liberties with Brown’s autobiography and adds a fictional character who works less well than the rest, the only structural complaint in the set. Slant is alone in dwelling on Jim Sheridan’s direction, crediting him with keeping the camera at Brown’s eye level; the others treat the film mainly as a vehicle for its actor. The spread is narrow, with every review positive.