Cast: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head
Director: John Lee Hancock
The Blind side starring Sandra Bullock, is the kind of remarkable true story that has been portrayed with a heart. It's a feel-good movie that never stops feeling good.
Adapted from a nonfiction bestseller, The Blind Side is about a wealthy white American family that takes in a homeless black teenager and encourages him to play football. What makes the film relevant is the fact that the kid in question, Michael Oher is an actual NFL player!
Sandra Bullock stars as Leigh Anne Tuohy, an stern mother of two, who spots the black kid (played by Quinton Aaron) near her children's school on a cold winter night, clad only in a T-shirt and shorts. When she learns that he studies in the same class as her daughter and appears to have nowhere to go, she invites him to stay the night in their sprawling home. The boy's very grateful, but barely speaks at all. Leigh Anne and her family, however, insist that Michael lives with them permanently, and they make him a part of the family.
Football fanatic that she is, Leigh Anne pushes Michael to pursue his interest in the game, making sure he's good enough to get on the school team, even teaching him a trick or two about how to block, based on his protecting instincts.
Quinton Aaron delivers an very subtle and understated performance as Oher, who's portrayed as something of a near-mute saint in this film. He shows no interest in girls or in making friends. He just hangs out quietly around Leigh Anne's kids and establishes more or less invisible but deep-rooted bonds with them. But the near mute quietness works for him as the audience is moved to tears by his innocent dialogues. He remains expression less but still has an amazing effect on people. Oddly for a film about this kid, The Blind side turns Oher into a supporting character in his own movie!
The star here, you see, is Sandra Bullock, and this is her best role yet. Her performance as Leigh Anne Tuohy is somewhat crafted to get her the Oscar, which she does.Bullock plays Leigh Anne as a feisty mom who is not afraid to show her tricks by marching in on an ongoing Football practice. But her most cringe-worthy moment has got to be the one at a lunch table where one of her high-society friends refers to Oher and remarks to Leigh Anne: "You're changing that boy's life." She replies, her eyes going moist: "No, he' changing mine."
Ultimately, The Blind Side is a heart warming movie.Nothing more,nothing less.....
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Missed the movie,twice.A bad miss,it seems.
ReplyDeleteThere's a movie 'The Freedom Writers'.It's about how a teacher,played by Hillary Swank,comes to teach in a town that seems hopelessly divided on racial lines and how she brings together the White,the Black and the Hispanic students,in the process uniting them,even on a familial level.
ReplyDeleteThere is a famous scene where Swank's father speaks to her after her boyfriend left her and was literally on her knees-
"You have been blessed with a burden."
Will interest you.:)