The Blind Side

"The Blind Side" is directed by John Lee Hancock. It stars Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, and Kathy Bates.

Well, I know nothing about football so this entire movie was news to me. It is in, fact, a true story, having been adapted from the book, "The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game." It's about Michael Oher, the offensive lineman (I actually have absolutely no clue what that is) for the Baltimore Ravens (recently found out they were a team). He's had a hard life. He's poor and uneducated. His father left him and his mother is addicted to drugs so Michael is removed from her care. He goes through several foster homes, running away from each of them. He starts going to a private school, but has a very low IQ. A rich southern family, the Tuohys (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw play Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy. The actors who play the kids really do not matter because this is Sandra Bullock's movie and no one elses) take him in and eventually adopt Michael. Michael begins to bring his grades up with the help of his tutor, Miss Sue (Kathy Bates) and becomes quite the football player. This leads to several schools trying to recruit them. The rest is history...yeah I know that's a cliche but I'm getting tired of explaining the plot...

Like I said, this is definitely Sandra Bullock's movie. And let me thank Julia Roberts so much for not taking the lead role in this movie...it most likely wouldn't have ended well. So Sandra Bullock playing a rich white woman isn't really a huge stretch of the imagination. But this time she does it with a southern accent. I don't know much about accents, but in my opinion she did a great job and stayed consistent throughout the movie. She is a great lead actress and she shines in this movie. Her interactions with Tim McGraw and Quinton Aaron all seems legitimately real. She genuinely loves Michael and will do anything to better his life. Besides "The Blind Side," I've only seen her in "Miss Congeniality" and "The Proposal," so I have very little to compare her too. But in "The Blind Side" she proves that she can be just as convincing in a drama as she is in a comedy. Quinton Aaron hadn't done a whole lot of acting before this movie, but he is very good here. A change is evident in the movie and he progresses with his life. I am pretty indifferent to Tim McGraw and he is pretty much just here so that Sandra Bullock has someone to talk to. Kathy Bates is another great actress and I got really excited more than halfway through the movie when I remembered that she was in it. Her role here as Miss Sue is nowhere near as great or memorable as her Oscar-winning role as Annie Wilkes in "Misery," but few roles are, because she was amazing in "Misery" and everyone should see it. In "The Blind Side" she is only in a few scenes, but they're great and she has some good comic relief. She's one of those people who I always enjoy seeing even if only in a small role.

I just found out that John Lee Hancock also wrote the script. It always impresses me when the same person is able to write and direct a movie. The script was good and actually didn't feel cheesy or anything. And no awful pieces of dialogue have been etched in my memory for all eternity.

Narration is used well in this movie...not much more I can say about that. It isn't overused and is mostly saved for a little bit near the beginning and at the end. Also, some real footage of the actual Michael Oher is used, which was a nice addition to the movie. Throughout the movie there are flashbacks to when Michael was taken away from his mother. These are very brief and flash up on the screen, but add to the emotion impact of the story.

There really is not a legitimate bad thing I can say about this movie. Although at times the score makes the scene feel overly, unrealistically dramatic. It feels a tad forced, but it's not a huge problem. Also, Michael's life turning around happened awfully fast in the movie...but I guess the assumption is that in real life things happened at a normal pace.

So yes, I loved this movie. Sandra Bullock was great and it was very well acted and paced and everything. Sandra Bullock's got herself a Golden Globe nomination (actually 2...one from "The Proposal") so who knows, she could be a surprise nominee for Best Actress at the Oscars. Although if that happens, she won't win, but it would just be fun for her to be nominated. Basically, admit that there is something about Sandra Bullock you like and go out and see the movie...or wait 4 months and rent it for a dollar...either way, see it...one of my favorites from the year, just not Best Picture material. 3 out of 4 stars.

-Joseph Sbrilli