Blind Side
Sandra Bullock has always been a beautiful, angelic presence in American cinema (even if many of her films stink), and it was only a matter of time before she was given a role that matched her persona, fitting her so much like a glove that she would land her first Oscar win as Best Actress for this 2009 release, which tells the true story of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a down on his luck (and very large) black teen with no family and no hope to speak of, until while trudging to the gym late at night to sleep in a warm place, meets up with Leigh Anne Twohy (Bullock) and her family, who in their kindness take him in and provide a stable home environment in order for him to do better at school and eventually, football, before finally becoming an All-American offensive tackle and first round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens. Now some people might consider this type of content to be a TV movie concept or worse, a racially patronizing attempt at saying that the only hope a black man can have to make it in this world is with the help of White Saviors, but thankfully writer / director John Lee Hancock is bold enough to tackle the white guilt issue head on, presenting the Twohys as God-fearing Christian Conservatives and Leigh Anne in particular as someone who knows she’s doing the right, Christian thing by Michael, but still somewhat wonders if she’s doing the SMART thing taking this kid from the ghetto she barely knows into her opulent home in an affluent neighborhood and providing him the necessities he needs to make it, and that grasp of the reality of the situation helps it to be entertaining without being manipulative or preachy, no mean feat. It’s interesting that the real-life Oher wrote his own book about his life, in which he expressed disappointment in how he was portrayed in the film, with Aaron’s interpretation of him being a quiet, shy, and at times slow-witted type when Oher claimed his own real personality growing up was a lot more extroverted, plus he’s portrayed as being inept at first in learning the game of football, but eventually finds his groove over the course of a single game, perhaps the only real concession Hancock made to possibly make his movie more palatable to the Hollywood establishment. Regardless, the two leads carry it off beautifully, supported ably by the actors playing her family (including country music star Tim McGraw as her husband), and Bullock probably ensured her Oscar win with her big confrontation scene with the ghetto drug dealer who hints at being a threat to her adopted son, plus Oscar winner Kathy Bates shows up as the hired tutor who shamefully admits to Leigh Anne during her interview that she is actually a Democrat. In addition, it must be said that this is also one heck of a sports movie also, as Michael’s skills on the field start attracting the attention of some of the most prominent coaches in college football, with cameos by Nick Saban, Lou Holtz, and many others, and the final scenes, with Michael achieving his dreams along with real life footage of him when he was chosen in the NFL draft, succeed in bringing the viewer’s emotions to a peak. In the end, a movie that can be described in many ways, but mostly as a beautiful story about the kindness that people are still capable of showing one another…
9/10