The Blind Side

Let me start out this post by saying, I have nothing against Sandra Bullock. Ok, well, maybe I do. She has constructed a successful movie career by repeatedly playing her patented character in movies that I have long since dismissed as fluff. To put it harshly, I do not take her seriously as an artist. When I first saw the trailers for the 2009 film The Blind Side I dismissed it as her regular fare and did not bother to see it until now. I simply thought the box office geniuses saw a movie that combined elements of your standard chick-flick tearjerker with a football story, immediately turning it into the perfect date movie. That is why I was so shocked when it not only was nominated for Best Picture, but actually won a Best Actress award for Bullock.

Now, I frequently disagree with many of the nominations and awards handed out by the Academy of Motion Pictures. But, since what constitutes a good movie is so subjective, I can usually stomach the decisions and move on. For some reason John Lee Hancock's The Blind Side gave me a little extra twist. Now having seen it, I think I can explain why.

The Blind Side tells the story of Michael Oher, a young and homeless black boy, who is befriended and eventually adopted by the Tuohy family. Thanks to their love, support, and financial resources, he is able to attend a quality school and blossom into a top collegiate athlete. Honestly, as a sports movie, it works fine. Many of my favorite sports movies are fairly simplistic. There is a good team and a bad team, there is a personal conflict for the main character that mirrors the movie's sporting conflict. Throw in some funny cameos by sports personalities and a hearty catharsis at the end. Check, check, check and check. Even as your standard tearjerker the film makes do with some heartwarming scenes between Mrs. Tuohy and Oher. My problems are of a different nature. Beyond the troubling narrative of rich, white family saves poor, black boy from his black peers (the story is true so it is hard to complain), beyond the thinly veiled conservative viewpoint that is passed off as progressive and even beyond some particularly cheesy Hollywood moments, for me, it is as a character-driven drama where the movie falls short.

Two of the most important features for any drama are the character development and arc. After having watched the film, I can truthfully say I know next to nothing about the supposedly altruistic Tuohys. The Blind Side completely turns a blind eye to any of the difficulties that would be inherent in this situation. Leigh Anne Tuohy, the mother and central character played by Bullock, is not humanized. She is idealized and glorified. We never see any internal struggle or self-doubt from her. Mrs. Tuohy spends very little time questioning whether or not to bring a hulking stranger into her house with her young daughter and son. She spends an equally small amount of time brushing off the racist-tinged clucking of high society, embodied here by a few, peacockish, local women.

Still, Sandra Bullock does have a certain charm. She drives the movie and it misses her when she is off-screen. The climactic scenes of the movie determine whether or not Oher will be accepted to college and they suffer for her absence. They also do not have much of a connection with any of the other themes of the story making them a fairly pointless (and predictable) exercise. Oher himself, played by Quinton Aaron, has little to do for most of the movie besides breath quietly. We are never given a real glimpse inside this young man's head besides a couple of throw away scenes with some of his teachers.

Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side

Mr. Tuohy (Tim McGraw), and the Tuohy kids (Lily Collins and Jae Head) also don't have much to do. They never seem to mind that their already busy mother's time has been usurped by a total stranger and the adjustment period that would be both natural and interesting is glossed over. The only other major character in the film is Michael's explicitly liberal tutor (see, it's balanced!), Miss Sue, who is played by Kathy Bates and possesses a pretty creepy manipulative streak (see, liberals are creepy!). To phrase it bluntly, the film takes a very complex situation and boils it down to platitude level.

John Lee Hancock has some experience directing both sports movies (2002's The Rookie) and black and white/good vs evil films (2004's The Alamo). From a technical standpoint, the movie is decently put together. The direction, cinematography and score are all merely adequate. Bullock continues to play Bullock, so I guess her Oscar is more of a lifetime achievement award. In summary, The Blind Side is a perfectly capable sports movie and a watchable enough family drama. I just expect more from my Oscar nominees and winners.

18/30