Susan Granger’s review of “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.)
Football and family are a Thanksgiving tradition but, when rookie Baltimore Ravens’ All-American left tackle Michael Oher was growing up on the meanest streets of Memphis, Tennessee, he knew little about either. His mother was a crack addict; his father disappeared shortly after he was born; and his siblings were scattered. Deftly directed and adapted by John Lee Hancock (“The Rookie”) from Michael Lewis’s powerhouse gridiron non-fiction book, this is Oher’s extraordinary, true story.
It begins as “Big Mike” (Quinton Aaron) is surviving on his own, virtually homeless, attending Wingate Christian School during the day, wandering the streets alone at night. Concerned about the 6’5”, 340-pound teenager, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) takes him home, bunking him on the sofa, much to the surprise of her successful businessman husband (country superstar Tim McGraw), teenage daughter (Lily Collins), and 10 year-old son (Jae Head). While she’s ostensibly a wealthy, Southern decorator, within outspoken Leigh Anne burns a fierce sense of right and wrong, particularly when Michael’s teachers question his mental competence or her socialite chums make snide racial remarks.
Shy, insecure and quiet, Michael, admittedly, has zero learning and communication skills. Nevertheless, to the charitable, football-crazed Tuohy family, he shows promise, even though he knows nothing about the game. Indeed, scoring in the 98th percentile on the protective scale, Michael is the proverbial gentle giant until Leigh Anne explains, “Your team is your family, and you have to protect them. You protect the quarterback’s blind side. When you look at him, think of me. How you have my back.”
So with the support of his adoptive family, particularly feisty Leigh Anne, and the help of a devoted tutor (Kathy Bates), Michael Oher beats the odds – with dignity and courage – attracting the attention of SEC college coaches Nick Saban, Tommy Tuberville, Houston Nutt, Phil Fulmer, Ed Orgeron and the legendary Lou Holtz.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Blind Side” is an insightful, inspiring, sports-themed 7. Tender and gripping, heartbreaking and uplifting – what could be timelier for Thanksgiving?
