My Review: The Blind Side (8/10)

¨You threaten my son, you threaten me.¨

(8/10)The Blind Side, directed by John Lee Hancock (who also directed 2004`s The Rookie), is a biography of the life of Michael Oher, a professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens and an All-American from Ole Miss. The movie does not focus so much on his career as a football player, but in his relationship with the Touhy family who eventually ended up adopting him when he was a teenager. The Blind Side is a great movie for the entire family to enjoy, even if you hate the sport of football because the film doesn`t focus on the game as much. The beginning might be a bit misguiding because it opens with footage from an NFL game, but it only served to introduce the title of the film. The focal point of the movie is the protective nature of Oher towards others even though he had a very difficult childhood and was abandoned by his real parents. How he was able to move on with his life and stay away from all the dangers that teenagers his age have to go through was due in most part because of the family who opened their doors for him. His caring and protecting nature was always innate in him, but he wasn`t used to receiving love from others. This mutual relationship between him and the family, and especially between him and Leigh Anne, is the true heart of the movie. The message is a very uplifting and inspiring one and that is why I really ended up enjoying The Blind Side. Hancock did a great job at directing this film; and I am not familiar with Oher`s life, but hopefully he remained faithful to his biography. The story is very encouraging and uplifting nonetheless.

The movie opens with a voice over of Sandra Bullock narrating real footage from an NFL game with a very marked southern accent. In the game a quarterback was seriously injured and because of that game the left guard position became one of the most valuable positions in the league because a left guard is in charge of protecting the quarterback`s blind side (therefore explaining the title of the film). Then we are introduced to Michael Oher`s character who is played by Quinton Aaron and he is being taken to a Christian school along with a friend and his parent. Because of his size everyone calls Oher Big Mike. He is accepted in the school highly recommended by the coach because he knows he has potential due to his tremendous size even though he doesn`t have very good grades. At school Big Mike meets S J and later is introduced to the Touhy family. One rainy night they find out he is sleeping at the school gym so they decide to invite him to sleep at their home for the night. Leigh Anne (played by Sandra Bullock) takes a special interest in Big Mike and decides to help him with as much as she can. The Touhy`s are a very wealthy family and they are all huge sport fans, and they support all Ole Miss teams. Leigh`s husband is played by Tim McGraw and he supports his wife in every decision she makes. The kids also accept Michael and the relationship begins to build from this point on as we also get to learn more about his troubled past through flashbacks.

The Blind Side is very formulaic, but it does have one thing going for it beside it being a true story: Sandra Bullock. Her performance is the highlight of the film and she carries this movie. An Oscar nomination is not out of the question. Tim McGraw gives a decent performance considering he is a singer, Kathy Bates also has a supporting role as Michael`s teacher and she is always a good addition. I really enjoyed the movie and found it really inspiring. It has a very powerful message and teaches you how much a good dead can change someone`s life for the better. Oher is only a minority is these cases where so many talented kids waste their lives because they don`t receive help or education. The Blind Side is a movie for the entire family to enjoy and at the same time there is a powerful message to be learned. I highly recommend this film.