The Blind Side (2009)

Genre: Drama
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron,
Director: John Lee Hancock

This is not a typical Christmas movie, it does not involve snow, presents, carols, ghosts of Christmas or Santa Clause; this is a movie about real life happenings, about humanity and relationships, about American football, and, most of all, about family.

“The Blind Side” is not a single hero-type of movie, but a two-fold story: the real life story of Michael Oher, an 18 years old homeless boy from a broken family, that ends up playing for the Baltimore Ravens, in NFL, and the true story of Leigh Anne Tuohy, a typical wealthy mom from Memphis who, by helping Michael fulfill his potential, ends up discovering herself.

It all begins on a cold night, just before Thanksgiving, when Leigh Anne stops the car to take in “Big Mike”, an African-American colleague of her son from the Christian School, who was freezing and didn’t have where to go. From that point on, the Tuohy family becomes Michael’s family, and every day will be a struggle to change mentalities and to help “Big Mike” overcome the new set of challenges, as a student and as a football player.

Most of the movie’s charm and sensibility is given by Sandra Bullock, who succeeds in catching the straightforward personality of the real Leigh Anne Tuohy. Apart from Bullock, other characters of the movie are played by country singer Tim McGraw as Leigh Anne’s husband Sean, Quinton Aaron as “Big Mike” and Kathy Bates as Mike’s tutor. The director John L. Hancock, known for “The Alamo”, “The Rookie” and “Hard Time Romance”, leaves the southern accent to reveal most of the funny situations and gives the movie as much “heart as humor”. The American football fans need to know that the movie also includes close-ups with famous coaches such as: Houston Nutt, Phillip Fulmer, Nick Saban, Tommy Tuberville, Lou Holtz and Ed Orgeron.

Sandra Bullock’s performance as a blond southern mom was as unexpected as refreshing, succeeding to catch the true nature of the feisty Leigh Anne. It might just be that this is her best performance, and rumors have it that she is eligible for an Academy Award.

“The Blind Side” is an emotional movie about the importance of family and about finding the right way in life. The success of the movie is due to the reality side of the story that actually happened, and that managed to break interracial and political (Democrats vs Republicans) barriers, thus making it an example of morality, and human kindness. It gives a feeling of good that doesn’t stop feeling good long after the movie has ended.

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