The Blind Side is an amazing movie

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2013)

The Blind Side is a compelling movie about the coming together of two very different American experiences. John Lee Hancock wrote and directed this eye-opening biography film that was the fourth highest grossing film in 2009. The film revolves around two main characters: a teenage athlete from the projects and a wealthy suburban family who, in the end, change each other's lives.
Hancock took a step in the right direction when deciding on the location for the story. Set in Memphis Tennessee, moviegoers feel the experience of the two Americas. One with well manicured lawns, large houses and a beautiful private school. The other showing the rundown stores and the gritty housing projects complete with broken windows and eviction notices. The clothes of the various characters reflect the two different Americas: preppy and stylish on one side and worn out and drab colors on the other.
Quinton Aaron plays one of the two main characters, Michael Oher, also known as "Big Mike" to most. Aaron has the large physical stature to fit the role of Big Mike as a budding high school football star, but it is his portrayal of the quiet, but thoughtfulness in Big Mike which makes us root for him to succeed. With few words but realistic facial expressions and slow body-movement, Aaron conveys Big Mike's unease in his new surroundings, his sadness of never experiencing a real family life and ultimately his growing comfort.
Sandra Bullock steps into the shoes of Leigh Anne Tuoghy. Bullock is best known for her flirtatious characters in movies like Miss. Congeniality and All about Steve, but in this film, she executes the role of Leigh Anne, not as smiling and flirty, but as a calm, confident wife and a mother of two, whose life is changed by Michael. At one point in the film Leigh Anne is in the projects looking for Big Mike, when a man calls her an expletive. Bullock shows the tension, not by screaming, but with eye contact. She also conveys Leigh Anne's thoughtfulness behind a materialistic appearance. She drives a Mercedes, but calmly yet sternly challenges her lunch friends who almost mock her when she says Michael is apart of the family.
Rather than merely walking through the story in chronological order, Hancock effectively uses flashbacks to show the difficulty of growing up with a drug-addicted mother. Learning about Big Mike's rough life was an emotional part of the film. Hancock uses a camera angle to make you feel you are in Big Mike's shoes as he watches his mother struggle. Having a wide camera angle when Big Mike was comes to his new private school helped show how different this setting was from the projects. How the camera moved was nice, creating the storyline to flow well and not having a chopping cut break up to story either. The soundtrack by Carter Burwell added to emotions that the audience and the two different cultures experienced. The football scenes are realistic but do not overwhelm the film. Rather, football is one way the two Americas can come together.
The Blind Side will stir a wide range of emotions: from holding back tears to jumping joy. It will also cause adults and school aged kids to have a greater appreciation about what someone from the other America can do or is thinking. That is a lesson, which will make this movie relevant for years to come.