The Blind Side

The H-Bomb: Sandra Bullock gives her most impressive performance to date in this uplifting and surprisingly moving film about a teenage sports prodigy with a troubled past who is taken in by a well-meaning family and is given something people from his side of the tracks rarely get… the opportunity to make something of his life.

I’m a reasonably cynical person, and as such, I generally hate films about good, kind people with happy, uplifting endings. Why, you ask? Mainly because I never believe them for a second. I get especially cynical around the Holiday season, and am usually even more hostile to phony, syrupy, feel good movies. That’s why I found myself completely blind-sided by “The Blind Side”, an inspiring, entertaining film that I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. A film that gave me characters that I really cared about, and a (true) story that I, for a change, did believe.

“The Blind Side” is about Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a gigantic African American teenager from the ghetto who’s been drifting from one foster home to another for most of his life. The football coach of a private high school sees real potential in Oher and talks the school’s administrators into accepting him into the school. Nick-named “Big Mike” by everyone around him, it quickly becomes clear that he might not make the grade academically. In fact, early on, we’re led to believe that he’s a half wit. He isn’t; however, he’s just incredibly shy. As one character describes him, “He’s like an onion. You have to peel back the layers, one at a time.”

Despite attending this rather distinguished school, Michael is forced out of another foster home and spends his nights in the school gym. This is where he first draws the attention of Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), an assertive but generous woman who offers to let him stay with her and her kind-hearted family. From here we see Michael bond with the Tuohys as they accept him as one of their own, and for the first time in his life, Michael finds himself with a home, and a family.

This film is a genuine crowd-pleaser through and through. It’s the kind of underdog prevails story that you’ve seen before, but as someone once said, “When it comes to making a good film, you don’t need to surprise people, you need to make them care.” And that’s exactly what director John Lee Hancock did, he makes the audience care about this big, awkward lug of a teenager. As we follow Michael through the story, both on the football field, and at home with the Tuohys, we really grow to like him, and want to see him succeed.

Don’t let the ads fool you, this isn’t really a sports movie. The scenes on the field actually take up very little screen time. Instead, it’s the story about how a young man is able to beat the odds with the help of the kindness of strangers. It’s also a film about the relationship that develops between an adoptive son and a mother, and about the basic goodness that exists in most people. On paper it all sounds like a cheesy, sappy, Robin Williams-esque suck-fest, but Hancock was able to keep things from falling into the realm of over-sentimental crap by injecting healthy doses of humor into the film.

Bullock is a delight as the tough-as-nails southern gal who is determined to see Michael make the most of his talents. The scene where she marches out onto the football field and  coaches him during practice is priceless. She really is terrific in this role. She’s so good, in fact, that some people might even be mentioning her name come Oscar time. I don’t think I’m overstating it at all, this is the best performance I’ve ever seen her give. Tim McGraw is solid as her easy going husband, Sean. He’s understated, but likable, and proves an effective foil to the assertive Bullock. Jae Head nearly steals the movie as the Tuohy’s young son, S.J., and Kathy Bates makes a welcome appearance late in the game as Michael’s private tutor. The real revelation, though, is Quinton Aaron as Michael. I don’t know who the hell this kid is, but he was the embodiment of “Big Mike” and played him to a T. I really hope to see more of him in the future.

Is there anything to complain about? Sure… if this movie weren’t based on a true story, I would think that the Tuohy family is a little too good to be true. The way they just take Michael in would’ve been too much for me to swallow, had this been a fictional story. But maybe that’s just my cynicism talking… another thing, my most common complaint, is that clocking in at over two hours, the film goes into overtime, and could’ve used some tightening at parts… but, no biggy.

In fact, the length really isn’t a problem at all, because, as stated earlier, the film pulls you into the story of young Michael Oher and makes you care about what happens to him. This is one of the very rare film going experiences I’ve had where the audience I saw it with applauded at the end, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to join in.