The Blind Side is a very inspirational movie based on a true story.

Rating: 10/10 (4 October 2013)

The Blind Side
Review
In this movie, there were several scenes that greatly impacted the movie and it was a struggle to just choose one. The scene I chose was towards the beginning and it set the foundation for the entire movie. In this scene and through out the entire movie, Leigh Anne Tuohy becomes the focal point and is most involved in Michael's life. This scene instantly reveals Leigh Anne's role as the caring and kind woman she is. The scene starts off with the Tuohy family driving home from S.J.'s school play on a cold wet winter night. As they are driving home, they spot a big African American boy walking on the side of the road. Leigh Anne begins to question her son, S.J., about who the boy is. S.J. tells her that his name is Big Mike and at that moment, Leigh Anne's character begins to show because she instantly became very concerned about Big Mike. As they begin to get closer to him, Leigh Anne's husband, Sean, rolls down the window and asks him where he is going. Now, in today's society most people would not have even acknowledged his existence, I mean face it, we are selfish human beings and we tend to only care about ourselves ninety percent of the time. However, in this movie, that was not the case. Big Mike answers Sean with a soft and timid voice by telling him he is going to the school. The Tuohy's hesitantly drive away after they let Big Mike cross the street. It does not take more than five seconds for Leigh Anne to tell her husband, Sean, to turn around. He immediately turned the car around and Leigh Anne tells Sean to stop the car. She gets out and begins walking towards Big Mike. She asked him why he was going to the school gym because it is closed. He would not answer, so she persistently asked him again and he said "Because its warm." She asked him if he had a place to stay the night and he shook his head no. She looks back at her family in the car and made a look at her husband that said it all. She then invites Big Mike in their car and as they are about to start leaving, Sean states "Where are we going?" and Leigh Anne says "Home" in a way that implied, where else would we be going, of course we are going home. As they pull up to the Tuohy's mansion of a house, Big Mike looks out the car window and his eyes said it all. He could not believe what he was seeing.
If this scene does not reveal compassion and love towards people who are in need, then I do not know what will. This scene set the groundwork for the movie in that it was not going to be the normal white wealthy family saving an African American poor homeless boy. This movie was much more than that, it was an inspiration to the viewers that it only takes one person to step up and make a difference and an impact in someone's life. Leigh Anne was that person for Michael. It did not matter the difference in skin color, she just saw a homeless and abandoned boy and reached out to him. She did not have to, but she chose to because of the caring and loving woman she was. James Berardinelli, a critic, states, "This is more about simple human decency and economic disadvantage than it is about racial inequality (although it would be disingenuous to ignore a link). Leigh Anne helps Michael not because of the color of his skin or his potential as an athlete - she does it because she sees another human being suffering and reaches out to him." Throughout the entire movie, the whole family, mostly Leigh Anne, helped Michael become confident, strong, and most of all loved. They helped him become a star athlete that was drafted to the NFL Baltimore Ravens in the first round. Without this particular scene, Leigh Anne stepping up to the plate and not caring what anybody else would have thought of her, Michael would have never had a career in the NFL or a family that loved and cared for him. Kevin Carr stated in his review of the movie, "And in the end, I really felt the film should have been more about Michael Oher rather than a spectacle of how awesome Leigh Anne Tuohy is, 'cause that gets rammed down your throat a bit too much here'." I disagree with this statement because Leigh Anne Tuohy was bold and without her demanding and outspoken character; Michael would have never become the person he did. After all, in 2010, the actress playing the role of Leah Anne, Sandra Bullock, won an Oscar at the Golden Globes for her role in The Blind Side, so I'd say she did her job well. Overall, The Blind Side was a very inspirational movie that displayed the kind of character we should take on in our everyday lives.