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Review

The Blind Side – Movie Review

The Blind Side tells the true story of Michael Oher, a massive (and I mean massive) African-American youth from a broken home who is taken in by the Touhys, a wealthy, white family. His size and speed make him an incredible football player (once he’s taught how to play) but his school marks seem set to hold him back. When Leigh Anne realises that his football could take him to a good college, she hires him a tutor. Oher works hard and fulfills his potential, going to University of Mississippi and eventually being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.

I knew this movie had been nominated for Best Picture and Sandra Bullock for Best Actress (having already scored the Golden Globe) before going in, but I didn’t actually hold out much hope. To be completely honest, I couldn’t quite picture Ms Bullock performing well enough for a nomination. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind her work, but if she was in high school getting a drama award, it’d be “Most Consistent”, not “High Achiever”.

But I was pleasantly surprised. Bullocks performance was brilliant as the pushy, kind and self-assured Leigh Anne. I haven’t seen the performances she’s up against, so I don’t know for certain if she deserves to win, but I will say that she deserves to be in the list. Her comedy was underplayed and her relationship with each family member (including Michael) was natural.

Not so for the picture in general. It was enjoyable but I really don’t think it was Best Picture worthy. In fact I don’t think it deserved the nomination. I have a couple of reasons for this opinion. Firstly, the beginning of it dragged. I found myself trying to advance the plot through will alone (didn’t work).

The second, and more important reason, the film didn’t have the level of emotion that would make it an important enough film to nominate it for an Oscar. It was a too safe. I’ve heard a number of other reviews of this film and heard it described as “a movie to make white people feel good” (Show Show Podcast). That’s essentially what this movie is. It makes no attempt to raise any uncomfortable issues. There are some references in dialogue about segregation but nothing along the lines of Remember the Titans (which didn’t get a nomination I might add).

The story is lovely. It’s quite wonderful that everything seemed to fall into place where so much could go wrong. Michael could have become violent (considering his past) but he didn’t, Leigh Anne could have been suspicious but she wasn’t. Hell, the teenage daughter could have fought against her parents. None of those things happened. It was cool, but not immense, nor groundbreaking.

To finish, if you like chick flicks, sport movies and true stories, give it a watch. If you like hard-hitting, grim views of life in a slum, give it a miss.

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Have you seen The Blind Side and think I got it completely wrong? Do you think I got it completely right? Let us know in the comments!

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About The Author

Rach

Rach Fariss is an entertainment junkie ("Hi Rach"). This concerns her far less than it ought to, but she has "normal" friends to make up for the discrepancy. By day she slogs away at a computer creating web pages for "The Man". In her spare time (and occasionally not so spare) she watches films that most people won't and reviews them. You can read her other opinions and reviews at her blog, http://rachmediaopinions.blogspot.com (Rach's Media Opinions).

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Article Information

  • Posted: Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
  • Author: Rach
  • Filed Under: Film,Review
Tags: , , , ,

Comments

One Response to “The Blind Side – Movie Review”
  1. Miles Miles says:

    Rach! I had now idea you were a cool shiter (though granted, I haven’t been listening for a while). Thanks for the shout out! You’ve reacquainted me with an old favorite as far as podcasts go.

    February 28, 2010 at 3:49 pm

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