Review: THE BLIND SIDE

THE BLIND SIDE is not a football movie. THE BLIND SIDE is a movie about what it means to be a family. It’s a about how families don’t always fit into nice, neat little molds and that a family can consist of any number of arrangements. It just so happens those arrangements can include a football team as well as an unlikely family that takes another human being into their care, regardless of social taboo. This is the story of Michael Oher.

Michael Oher, played by Quinton Aaron (BE KIND REWIND), is a man of few words, so I will begin by using a single word to describe THE BLIND SIDE… inspiring. THE BLIND SIDE is based on a true story, directed by John Lee Hancock (THE ROOKIE, THE ALAMO) who also adapted the story for the screen from Michael Lewis’ book “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.” Michael is a large young man, earning him the nick name Big Mike. Michael grew up in an extremely under-privileged and dangerous part of Memphis known as Hurt Village. He was removed from his drug-addicted mother at an early age and spent most of his childhood in and out of foster homes.

As compelling and heart-wrenching as Michael’s past sounds, this is all back story. After barely getting accepted into a fancy private Christian school with the help of a friends’ father, Michael finds that he is ill-equipped for learning in the traditional sense. As he struggles to adapt, he is noticed at first by a school teacher who pushes the staff to adapt to his needs. In the process, Michael meets the Touhy family through SJ Touhy (Jae Head), a tiny boy who quickly befriends Michael.

Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and her husband Sean (Tim McGraw) put Michael up for the night after finding him out in the cold rain with nowhere to go. What the Touhy’s never expected was that this one night of spontaneous compassion would ultimately result in a lasting relationship that would change both Michael’s and the Touhy family’s lives forever. From day one, Leigh Anne is drawn to Michael in a motherly way. Michael is a soft-spoken young man with a good heart and athletic potential, fitting right in with a family of football fans. One thing leads to another and before long Michael is playing football on the school team.

Of all the things THE BLIND SIDE may or may not be, it is a satisfying film that lends itself to a greater purpose, but does so without much preaching. Perhaps the only real criticism I can offer is that, while Michael did clearly come from a bad place, I was slightly turned off by the film’s almost entirely negative portrayal of Michael’s roots in Memphis. The one exception is a fairly sincere and well-played, although brief, performance from Adriane Lenox (MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS) as Michael birth mother.

For what it’s worth, THE BLIND SIDE features what I consider Sandra Bullock’s best performance since her role in CRASH. For what it’s worth, that says a lot coming from me. Bullock’s performance is heart-felt and a bit thicker than normal, showing that she continues to take steps in the right direction toward broadening her range as an actress. On the flip side, the audience will find the same thing they always find from Kathy Bates, who appears in a very small role as Michael’s tutor… excellence!

For the football fans, several high-profile college coaches appear as themselves after Michael becomes a hot commodity within the frenzy that is attracting the best of the best into college football. While their are scenes of Michael learning to play football and eventually excelling at it, THE BLIND SIDE appropriately does not focus on this. Instead, the movie spends time illustrating the effect that the Touhy family has on Michael’s life and in turn, the effect Michael has on them, especially on Leigh Anne.

The most powerful moment of THE BLIND SIDE is at the end as the credits begin to roll. No. Not because the movie is over, but because of the photo montage of the real-life Michael Oher, which sets in concrete the notion that THE BLIND SIDE is based on a true story about a real person and a real family. THE BLIND SIDE is funny, endearing and even a little sad at times, but more importantly is a wonderful reminder that there are still people in the world that do good for goodness’ sake.

THE BLIND SIDE will entertain audiences, but hopefully the movie will also inspire audiences. In the current economic climate and state of global affairs, it’s a perfect time of year for an inspirational film. And, it’s not even a “holiday” movie. No. THE BLIND SIDE is not the little film that could change the world, but it could be the little film that inspires someone in the audience to go out and make an effort to change someone else’s life for the better… and that’s enough for me.