The Blind Side (**½)
Directed by: John Lee HancockStarring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon, Kathy Bates
Seen: March 21st 2010
**½ Out of ****
Michael Oher (Aaron) spent his youth moving between foster homes, running away from each one in an effort to try and find his mother to protect her from herself. Not having been able to dissuade her effectively, his life has become a fight for survival. At sporting events he picks up the food people left behind, even if it is just popcorn, and he sleeps in the Laundromat he goes to in order to wash the very few clothes he owns for the next day. He has people who look out for him, but they are also not of means. The father of a friend convinces coach Cotton (McKinnon) from Wingate Christian School (based on Briarcrest Christian School on Memphis, Tennessee) to give Big Mike, as he is known, a chance to come to the school – after all, it is the Christian thing to do. Coach Cotton gets Mike in, but only because he has seen Mike and believes he’ll be a valuable addition to his football team.
One night after a school volleyball game Leigh Anne Tuohy (Bullock) and her family head home in their expensive SUV. When they drive past a shivering Big Mike, Leigh Anne tells her husband Sean to turn around and stop. After a few questions Leigh-Anne clearly sees Mike has no place to stay, and the Tuohys take him home, giving him a bed (couch) to sleep on. Leigh Anne’s husband, Sean (McGraw), asks the obligatory “It’s just for the night, right?” question, and by that time we know this will become more, and the family accept Mike without question; S.J. (Head) has a new big brother and Collins (Collins) finds Mike to be an oddly reassuring presence. Mike learns about football and in both football and his family life his protective instincts come to fruition.
The Blind Side is not much different from a host of other sports movies, but it is presented with heart. You can’t help but feel good and laugh along at many stages during the movie, as ultimately this is a feel good movie. Sandra Bullock is a new person as Leigh Anne Tuohy, unlike anything she’s ever done before. The family are all able supporters for the mother-son relationship burgeoning between Mike and Leigh Anne. Where The Blind Side feels derivative it is in the training montage, which is sweet, but old – S.J. drilling Mike in a copybook training montage sequence, set to dramatic music and everything. The movie is also about 25 minutes too long, as simply too much things are crammed in unevenly, leaving some stretches feeling too slow while others feel rushed. The last 25 minutes of storytelling might be essential, but I started feeling the duration getting to me, so maybe some elements could have been cut down on earlier, such as at least a part of the training montage, big parts of the studying efforts to enable Mike to qualify to play and later to go to college, as well as a part of the overlong recruiting scenes, where coaches from all over literally line up to try and get Mike to come to their college.
If you want to be challenged by a movie, to really be taken for a ride, then this might not be the movie for you, but The Blind Side is a great evening out, with a good solid family story and great feel-good value.
Comments
When I first saw the rating I was bit caught off guard, but as I read, well, I saw the reasons why, If I have to say, I do Agree with you. The Movie is to long, and well, sad to say, even though I like seeing the old "Training Montage", it is copy paste. Some of the early parts of the film could have definitely shorter.
I think this could have so much more if only more imagination was used and unnecessary scenes have been cut. But even after this, I still enjoyed the movie, and I would probably watch it again.
Thanx for the review.