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The Blind Side


What it's about:

Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) is a poor, uneducated and rather large young man who's finding it difficult to adapt at his new school. When Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) takes him in for the night, she soon comes to realise that he needs much more than a couch to sleep on, and she can give it to him. The Tuohy family help Michael use his size to his advantage on the football field while trying to tread the fine line between assisting and persisting.

What we thought of it:

Life is just too short to over-think things. It's this "just do it" attitude and real-life charm that elevates The Blind Side from a Hallmark channel special to something Oscar-worthy.

Leigh Anne Tuohy could be your average, rich Southern version of a kugel. She could also so easily have helped Michael Oher just for the charitable brownie points. Instead, she follows her instincts. While everyone (including her own family) assumes that this 'coloured' (still a widely used Southern term for African-Americans) boy sleeping on their couch is going to hightail it out of there with the silver, Leigh Anne takes the leap of faith that young Michael so desperately needs.

Bullock draws on many of her previous roles to create a multifaceted Leigh Anne. You'll see her sexy strut and defiant feminist streak from Miss Congeniality, the take-no-nonsense, always in control attitude from The Proposal and her signature finger-pointing. Something we haven't seen before is the blonde hair, which looks great atop her impeccably styled, drop dead gorgeous body. Ugh, and she's a charming, funny and sweet woman to boot! I'm not sure if I'm ready to concede that Sandra deserved that Oscar for this role, but it's definitely her best to date in my books.

This story is special because no one treats it like it's special. The Tuohy family doesn't go out of their way to make Michael feel at home; he just is. This is best illustrated when an old friend calls the Tuohys to ask: "Do y'all know there's a coloured boy in your Christmas card?" Quinton Aaron uses fragile silence and a face like a picture book to depict Michael's inner confusion and bewilderment. Despite being out of his comfort zone, Michael takes to the Tuohys like a Southerner to football (the American kind, of course).

Country singer Tim McGraw gives great support to his leading lady as Sean Tuohy (don't you just love saying that name – too wee?), but almost everyone is outshined by the youngest Tuohy, S.J. (Sean Jr), played by Jae Head. He's the most excited out of the bunch to have a new big brother. It's just too precious seeing this really big guy and his really little brother be the best of friends.

The film cleverly touches on many social and political talking points without ever forcing you to take a side. From race to party alignment and the life-or-death choice of tertiary institution, it's firmly present in the real world. Up until the last few corny minutes, that is. But sometimes audience members need these sentimental lines to connect the dots, so we'll give it to them.

The Blind Side will touch your heart and make you cry – then snap you out of it and say "Well, alright then".

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