If this wasn’t a true story, it would seem incredibly pat and manipulative and impossibly rapid. The Blind Side was based on the book Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, by Michael Lewis, and follows the amazing story of Michael Oher from the underbelly of society to the spotlight. The story seems rushed, fueling its sense of unreality, but it did take place over a surprisingly short period of time. Perhaps if they had downplayed the short time span it would have been less distracting somehow.

Michael Oher, played by Quinton Aaron as a gentle grizzly bear, is a basically homeless “ward of the state” who has clearly dropped through the cracks. He’s not even tracked by the foster system any more. Not unlike Precious, the people in authority see only one deeply incorrect thing when they look at him: an unteachable lummox clogging up the system for the kids who actually care about school.

Aaron has a handsome, open face, with a soft smile and a voice to match he’s a massive person just trying to stay invisible, to not court trouble, a diamond in the rough. Just athletic ability isn’t enough, though it shines the light on him, he has will and heart as well.

Through one coach’s greed for his piddly private school’s athletics program, Oher gets a chance to turn his life around for himself, and is put in the path of Leigh Ann Touhy (Sandra Bullock). Touhy is an F5 feisty, rich, charitable, meddling, loving spitfire of a woman, and Bullock is up to the task. Her husband (Tim McGraw) is the quiet, supportive “yes dear” who writes the checks and trusts her judgment.

Bullock has a terrific no-nonsense attitude and crisp matter-of-factness that sells what could have been a prickly, bossy character. She and McGraw have terrific couple chemistry; they understand each other and navigate smoothly and lovingly through their personality traits. These three actors, too, sell the unbelievable story. It’s sweet but squirmy white-guilt-inducing to see Leigh Ann witness the other side of town, Hurt Village, the aptly named and very low-income demographic that subsists on her husband’s cheap fast food and allows them to live in luxury. She can’t even begin to grasp what all Oher has not had in his life. We’ve all seen slums and unfit mothers in the movies, but when she really sees where he’s from she really appreciates the enormous gift she is bestowing on this one boy.

It was somewhat disheartening for the take-home message of the film to seem to be “sports opens doors for the underprivileged” when it could have leant more on the value of kindness and faith in another human being and trust and love being more powerful than where one comes from. During Oher’s first days in school, teachers are already throwing up their hands. Thanks to the level of attention possible in a private school, the cracks he would have normally slipped through are much narrower.

Of course “blind side” refers to many things, the side of town we ignore, the vulnerable area of a football player’s visibility, and a sudden revelation smacking you across the head. The film blindsides us in Act III right when it seems its most predictable.

I wasn’t crazy about this section, the problem seemed overblown and the solution too simple, but overall I enjoyed the sweet tale of a kid being given a chance when he seemed all but lost, and the performances of Bullock and Aaron. It’s worth a look.

credits: Clevver | Cinerina | Yahoo! Movies Singapore

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Official Movie Poster

Singapore Date: 14th January 2010 Language: English Running Time: 120 mins Rating: PG Genre: Drama Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Lily Collins, Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron Directed by: John Lee Hancock Company: Alcon Entertainment Singapore Distributor: Warner Bros iZone Rating: 8/10 Official Website : The Blind Side

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Movie Trailer

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