Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Blind Side (2009)

This is a movie based on a true story.  It’s about a young man who grows up in a rough neighborhood and gets taken in by a rich family.  They give him the opportunity to do something with his life that most likely would never happen for him had he stayed where he was.  When I was watching this I was seeing a side of our society that I’m not as familiar with.  It’s sad that people have to go through life as Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) did.  We live in a country that almost everybody that lives in it puts up on a pedestal.  I for one would never want to live in such a neighborhood where violence, hate and ignorance controlled the area.  I was genuinely happy for Michael that he was able to succeed in a world that can label a person without knowing who they really are.

                Sandra Bullock, who plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, really steps into a role.  It’s not that same character she tends to portray or is it just the accent?  She really drags you into a movie you’re not sure will be worth it.  I’d have to say this is the best performance I’ve seen from her.  Michael makes you wonder what his life has been like.  You realize the environment he lives in isn’t a lifestyle he desires even though he speaks little early on the actor conveys the attitude.  You find yourself focused on how bad it was to make him so quiet for so long at the beginning.  I would like to know a bit more about him considering the movie is made to show what happened in his life.  Perhaps my own personal desire to know a character so much gets in the way of that.

                My favorite moment in the film is when things are going very well for Michael as the Tuohy family has given him a truck of his own.  He is excited about it in his meek way.  He takes S.J. Tuohy (Jae Head) for a ride with him when something terrible happens.  Yes, I’ll admit it was pretty easy to see the automobile accident coming but it’s the aftermath that I’m drawn too.  I know Michael goes on to play in the NFL but at what position does he play?  Will the movie’s title ever make sense?  I’ve been watching the NFL for a few years now and still don’t know the names of half the positions.  What happens is Michael extends his right arm to protect S.J. from evidently almost no injury.  His arm gets busted up a bit but it’s his natural instinct to protect the people he cares about.  As Leigh arrives Michael keeps telling her to check on S.J. not even wanting to boast about protecting her son, although he did crash the truck so maybe he was not in a position to brag, ha-ha!

                The act of protecting is also found in a test Michael took showing he had a natural tendency to do it.  They get him involved in football with mixed results at the beginning until Leigh intervenes to show the coach what he may be best at.  The left tackle position in football is to protect the quarterbacks blind side, thus Michael is tasked to do so to the most important player on the field.  It’s just neat to me how it all played out even though there wasn’t anything particularly special about it. 

                The little boy is hilarious and you wonder if he’s hyper active.  Kathy Bates does a good job as the support as usual.  Why do gangs exist?  Why live for drugs?  It makes you want to seek something better and more civil.  The movie touches you at times but it doesn’t overdo it.  To see Michael get a real shot at success he could never have had without that rich family, it’s feel good territory.

                Rating: 7 of 10

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