Faith-based to the core

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2015)

The juggernauts of gridiron cinema—such as Rudy and Remember the Titans— almost all have one thing in common: they're unapologetically formulaic, but they're also extraordinarily well done. Sports movies of one variety or another are produced every year, but it's rare that any of them really leave a lasting impression on the collective American consciousness. More often than not, they're nothing more than exercises in the art of telling the classic inspiration story; you know, the faithful underdog overcoming crushing odds (think "David and Goliath"). In Rudy, it was all about a runt with larger-than-life aspirations. In John Lee Hancock's The Blind Side, it's all about a larger-than-life (literally) teen who just wants a bed he can call his own. He's not thinking about what will happen years down the road; he's only thinking about where he'll find his next meal.
It's based on the true story of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a down- and-out Memphis teen who regularly wanders in and out of foster homes. His mother is a coke-fiend, and he has no family to watch after him. However, thanks to the generosity of a friend, he's introduced to the football coach of a private Christian school and is admitted on the basis of his formidable athletic presence. Michael still has no home, however; he picks up half-eaten bags of popcorn at his school's gym after volleyball games so he's able to eat. He spends his evenings keeping warm inside a local laundromat.
One night, Leigh Anne Tuohy, the wife of a wealthy fast-food entrepreneur, sees him walking the streets and brings him home. Her family provides him with new clothing and a bed of his own. All of this happens so quickly, in fact, that my first instinct was to say, "Wow— this would never happen." The whole setup, in fact, seems so naively optimistic that it screams Hollywood contrivance. However, there's one catch to all this that's easy to forget: like the previously mentioned Rudy, it's a true story. As such, the movie has, to a certain degree, some wiggle room in terms of exploring scenarios that would otherwise reverberate as totally unrealistic or totally clichéd. I suppose, however, that clichés sometimes receive their namesake because they are, in fact, reality for so many people.
To my surprise, this fact actually causes The Blind Side to excel where other movies might've fizzled. The whole thing—though often derivative— feels very "matter-of- fact." The deeper into the story you go, the more genuine it feels. Wisely, Hancock has chosen to spin his tale by letting the actors and a steady camera do the work. There are no overly dramatic camera angles, and the soundtrack is minimal. The dialogue is a little over-the-top at times, but it's not so much that's distracting. Really, what we get here are a lot of unadorned scenes that depict our protagonist going about his daily activities, merely trying to survive. The 128-minute runtime does start to wear a little thin as things come to a close, but it's hard to imagine much of the story being cut. I guess that's one of the difficulties of telling a "true story": it's often hard to know what is essential and what's extracurricular.
What really stands out in The Blind Side, however, is its penchant for probing the social class divide that so many Americans either ignore or pretend doesn't exist. Despite its references to Norman Rockwell and the plight of the working poor, I'm not quite ready to heap unconditional praise on the movie. It's exploration of these concepts is far from subtle, and is often presented in such a way as to almost shout, "Hey, stupid! Do something about this!" It's not that I question the film's call to action, it's just that its presentation is like a brick to the forehead. We're bombarded with images of dirty apartments, broken homes, and life "on the other side of the tracks." My hope was that the movie's early use of flashback would get this particular job done in a much more subtle way, but Hancock and co. decided to take a more blunt approach that, in my estimation, takes a little something away from the overall "bite."