John Lee Hancock, Warner Bros (26/03/10)

Nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars - where the film’s lead, Sandra Bullock, also went home with a Best Actress statuette - after hauling in truckloads of money at the box office as a surprise Autumn hit, one could be forgiven for having moderately high expectations for Hollywood import The Blind Side.

Disappointingly, for all the award season accolades and Middle-American seal of approval, this is yet another film that just doesn’t have what it takes to match the hype.

The Blind Side tells the ‘based on true events’ story of young African-American Michael Oher, a forgotten castoff of a broken social care system, who bounces from school to school by day and sleeps on relative’s couches by night until someone finally lends a hand and helps him overcome his life’s many obstacles.

The film picks up with Michael (played amiably by Quinton Aaron), or ‘Big Mike’ as most call him, around the time an uncle manages to convince the local football coach of a privileged, predominantly white high school to give the athletic teenage giant a chance. Michael is soon after enrolled at the school, and the thoughtful uncle who helped arrange his nephew’s big break is swiftly ushered out of the picture until film’s end (probably for the sake of a more classic fish-out-of-water, rags-to-riches story arc).

From there, we go on a ‘do something nice for Big Mike’ parade, in which an altruistic teacher and a philanthropic local family (led by Bullock’s pillar of the community Leigh Anne Tuohy) do all manner of genuinely kind, wonderful things for the previously hopeless young man. Make no mistake, altruism and philanthropy are good things! However, there’s a troubling strain of thought running through the film that seems to suggest Michael Oher and other unfortunate souls who’ve fallen through the cracks for one reason or another would have stood zero chance of success, or even managed basic survival, without the guiding hand of goodhearted, rich white folks.

Bullock and co. treat this promising young man like the world’s largest wind up toy, constantly giving the key another turn to keep him moving forward. Indeed, almost every time Michael is left to his own devices, he begins to sputter and veer off course, and tellingly, the heart of this feel-good, inspirational story lies in Leigh Anne Tuohy, not Michael Oher.

An orphan of the system who beat the odds to make it all the way to the ranks of professional American football is less captivating than the woman who paid for his private tutor?

Interesting.

Politics and subtext aside, the film suffers from limp pacing, clichéd scripting and a mostly lifeless supporting cast (apologies to Kathy Bates, who lends her usual spark to proceedings) that does little aside from smile, cheer and group hug on cue. The true story of Michael Oher is a fascinating one and could have made for riveting cinema, and while director John Lee Hancock’s slick, scrubbed-up adaptation of Michael Lewis’ source material might make you feel warm and cozy for the duration of its running time, it’s far from inspiring.

review: Peter Berg

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