Michael Oher is a teen who through the kindness of a friend ends up in a private high school; he doesn’t have a family, a home or anyone to care about until one day Leigh Anne Tuohy spots him walking home from school in freezing weather with nothing more than a polo shirt and shorts. Leigh Anne gets Michael to come home with her for the night and soon one night turns into an extended stay as Michael works his way into the heart of her entire family. An unofficial Tuohy Michael finally becomes stable enough to try out for football and soon begins lighting up the field, the top recruit for college football programs around the country. The adversity doesn’t stop there as both Leigh Anne, Michael and the entire Tuohy family are criticized for their relationship by friends and the city at large.
The Blind Side really surprised me, I only saw it because it managed a best picture nomination. Yet somehow, I really liked it. This is a movie that’s sentimental, emotional and cliché but it all works. The story of Michael Oher and the Tuohy’s is one that’s worth telling. It’s a story about love and compassion that very few people have ever been able to experience, it’s a story about a woman and a family that cared so much about a stranger that they didn’t care about what society expected of them and they changed each other’s lives.
This is not to say there weren’t some issues with the film. I for one would have loved to see more of Michael’s back story but I know that’s not what the film was about – it was about his future – and it’s a complicated thing to decide what to tell and what not to tell seeing as everyone in the film is real and Michael now plays for the NFL. His life is not fictional and you can’t mess around with it.
The one exceptional thing about The Blind Side is the performance of Sandra Bullock. Leigh Anne Tuohy is smart, sharp tongued, self-assured & more than anything a woman who doesn’t care what others think about her and Bullock brings her to life. This is the best performance I’ve ever seen out of Sandra Bullock and it’s definitely Oscar worthy; I don’t know if she will win come March, but she’s quite a contender.
Director & Writer: John Lee Hancock
Leigh Anne Tuohy: Sandra Bullock
Sean Tuohy: Tim McGraw
Michael Oher: Quinton Aaron
S.J. Tuohy: Jae Head
Collins Tuohy: Lily Collins
Miss Sue: Kathy Bates
Sean Tuohy: Who would've thought we'd have a black son before we met a Democrat?
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