The Blind Side is a biography/drama based on a true story about the remarkable American football player Michael Oher who started life at the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder and with the help of a caring woman and her family – rises to the very top – not without pulling a couple of heart strings.

Directed by John Lee Hancock based on the book by Michael Lewis, The Blind Side stars Sandra Bullock who won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for The Blind Side, the Critics Choice Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. With an equally as strong cast of Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Ray McKinnon and Kathy Bates - Quinton Aaron has also been nominated for various Best Actor and Best Breakthrough performance awards. So we make no mistake in saying – this film is bound to bring out the inner sentiments and move you through terrific performances based on true events.

The Plot

Depicting the story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, he is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfil his potential. At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhy’s lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.

The Thoughts

Whilst I thought it was a really good movie – it certainly tugged on my heart strings a fair bit and the performance by Sandra Bullock was nothing short of a high standard but the aftermath of watching this movie left me wondering why it was so Oscar-worthy.

The story was too sugar-coated, the characters cruised along smoothly with one event leading onto the next without difficulty or social ramifications i.e. a white middle class family taking in a black working class boy under their wing conjures many-a-racist image but there were hardly any hardships shown.