The Blind SideWow. What a year for Sandra Bullock. Not only did her romantic comedy with Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal become her most successful comedy ever (over $300 million worldwide), but she overcame cynics and critics with The Blind Side, which has now become a monster blockbuster ($247 million and counting) and has even pushed into Oscar territory with two major nominations - Best Picture and Best Actress.
So what is the big deal? I saw the previews and thought the movie looked like a saccharine, sentimental, and maybe even patronizing piece of fluff. But The Blind Side has struck a chord with audiences, and I had to find out why.
Based on the true story, The Blind Side is the story of the Tuowy's, a well-to-do Southern family who take in a homeless student named Michael. Led by the matriarch Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock), the Tuowys provide a stable support network for the quiet and withdrawn Michael, who has spent his life shifting from rundown foster home to rundown foster home. With his sheer size and strength, it is obvious that Michael was born to play football, and...well, there you go. That's about all there is to it.
Sounds pretty uninteresting, but the movie is surprisingly effective - written and directed with a sure hand by John Lee Hancock (The Rookie), with strong performances from Bullock and Quentin Aaron as Michael, the movie stays even-handed and refuses for the most part to engage in manipulative sentimentality. I say for the most part because it crosses the line egregiously once or twice - such as in an exchange Leigh Anne has with her friends. Her friend says, "You're changing that boy's life." Leigh Anne says, "No, he's changing mine." And I say, "Blaeeaaggghhhh" (is that what vomit sounds like?).
Graced with some solid acting and writing, and some genuinely funny moments (many of the football sequences are played for some big laughs), The Blind Side is an engaging, well-made, and touching film. But is it remarkable? Is it worthy of a Best Picture nomination? I don't know. I think I know why audiences have been so receptive. Movies these days have by and large grown very cynical, but The Blind Side is just the opposite. It leaves a warm feeling in audiences because it depicts human decency and kindness as virtues. In these tough times, it seems like the government can't do much, but we as human beings can and should help each other. The film provides us with real characters that we can admire and emulate, and it is a true story! How can you not feel good about that? And what is most effective is that the film does not bludgeon you over the head with this theme. It just puts the story out there and for the most part lets us react.
I think critics were lukewarm for the same reason audiences loved it. The movie isn't cynical enough for them. It wasn't gritty enough. Critics may have liked it more if there has been more darkness and violence, more crack-addicted mothers shooting themselves up in front of their children, and maybe if the Tuowys were a manipulative family that adopt Michael for the sole purpose of taking advantage of his natural talent in football for their own gain. Ah, yes! That's a movie that critics would like...
The Blind Side, for all of its faults, and there are many, refuses to do that. It just presents a good story about good people, and it tells that story well. Sometimes that's all you need.
MVP: This is Sandra Bullock's year and she gives a nomination-worthy performance, but I was actually more impressed with Quintin Aaron as Michael Oher. His work is subtle, and he spends so much of the movie silent, passive and ambiguous, that even the smallest smile has an impact. And when he finally does have an emotional breakdown when he returns to his old neighborhood, the scene is brutally effective. Bullock has all the good lines and sells her part like a pro, but it is Aaron's quiet strength that dominates the movie.
TRIVIA: So what happened to Michael Oher? I'm not ruining anything since this is a true story - he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2009 and had a pretty kick-ass rookie year. And it looks like he is only going to keep getting better.
BEST LINE: Sean Tuowy upon discovering Michael's tutor is a liberal. "Who would have thought I'd have a black son before I met a Democrat."
OSCARS: Best Actress (Sandra Bullock)
OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Best Picture (lost to Hurt Locker).
