The Blind Side

I'd read the book of the same title by Michael Lewis on which this movie is loosely based some time ago. It's a very interesting read talking about how a single defensive position has evolved to be especially critical in professional football.  In explaining this evolution Lewis managed to make a sport I've never remotely cared about come across as perhaps worth a look.  I tend to like works that point out the hidden world within something you thought you understood - and the nonfiction book did just that.  As part of that story it used the rise from nowhere of a high school prospect Michael Oher uniquely suited to the position's requirements as the primary example. The back story of Michael's life was fascinating - and the film The Blind Side focuses just on that. A brief voice over at the beginning sums up nearly everything else in Lewis' book.

Frankly, knowing what I know about the source material and seeing the trailer for this film left me with little hope of a movie worth seeing. But some friends told me it wasn't half bad, so I gave it a shot.  It seems that (perhaps only due to the law of large numbers) Sandra Bullock was finally able to score a script that fits her talents. As the upper class white woman who rescues Michael from a life of poverty and low potential she is effective and likable.

Maybe I should back up. Michael (referred to as Big Mike by most) grows up separated from his mother and living hand to mouth on folks couches. One of these temporary caretakers gets him enrolled in a Christian private school where his extreme introversion and lake of interest has teachers wondering if he can even read. Bullock sees him shivering on the road one night and makes what seems like a snap decision to help.  Soon he's part of the family and getting private tutoring and tons of assistance to realize his potential.  There's fairly little in the way of the culture/racial class drama you might expect in a film of this sort.  Though truth be told I didn't miss it.  Sometimes it's nice to just see a pleasant film about good people with a minimum of ulterior motives.  Of course Michael is also great at football and success is in his future. You'll shed a tear perhaps along the way, but only happy ones.  I'm sure you get the general idea.

I'm glad I went - it was an enjoyable 2 hours on a cold and dark Sunday.  If you don't expect much more than that you're likely to have a nice enough time.  There's some talk of Bullock as a best actress nominee. She's fine - this film proves she should just stop accepting the dumb romantic comedies if there's any money in the bank at all. But best actress of the year seems like a stretch, unless it's been a weaker year than I realize.