Sandra Bullock is a Hollywood sweetheart, everyone who saw her first in the standout 1994 action thriller Speed had fallen in love with her. Of course, with that big of stature in Hollywood, there had to come some huge expectations, and fortunately, Sandy B made sure that she was making films that were constantly either fun to watch, or just fantastically made in general. However, every once in a while comes a movie that you can’t place into either of those slots, and that’s what made The Blind Side so different from the rest of her films!
How to Stream or Download The Blind Side
You can stream it or you can download the film from a digital store. Click on the Download button and make your choice. And if you like Sandra Bullock, check her outs also in Ocean’s 8, Bird Box, Gravity, or The Lost City.
The Movie Review
This is a film inspired by some incredible true events, where one person’s choices helped in determining the future of an incredibly wronged yet talented young man. The story chronicles the journey of a young African-American boy named Mike, who had constantly been going in and out of different foster homes due to his mother not being suitably taking care of him on account of her drug addiction. Mike’s life had been tough, ever since he was a young boy. He had to survive on scraps, live out on the streets and just get by on a day-to-day basis. However, when he runs into Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, his life is remarkably changed when the white adoptive parents give him a home, a life, and aid him in reaching his true potential on the Football field.
As compared to most other people, I extremely love John Lee Hancock’s work. I personally find it really fascinating the way he depicts stories of people who are suffering through problems that aren’t of their own control, whether it be in Saving Mr. Banks or even A Perfect World.
This is why films such as The Blind Side work so well in an emotional sense, showcasing the injustices of others and the consequences they have for specific people that did not deserve it is always going to shatter the human soul. I’ll be real, this film does not sugarcoat any of the darkness that Mike had to live through. However, it chooses to focus on the brightness and the sunshine that comes into his life when he meets the Tuohy family.
The way it chooses to depict everything is by focusing on things through the perspective of a healer, Leigh Anne is the one person standing between Mike and the horrible foster care system. Sandra Bullock goes all out with his performance, bringing maturity and warmth, along with a nurturing tone to her dialogues that really showcases how Leigh Anne treated her adoptive son. The rest of the performances weren’t anything special, but this one performance from Sandra Bullock really stands out because it works in tandem with the film’s themes and motifs.
The film did have some issues, specifically in the pacing department which was a bit of a letdown. It had a bunch of scenes and moments that didn’t really serve anything in the overarching narrative and were just there to increase the runtime. However, the scenes that were there for a purpose were truly emotionally resonant. ]
They brought an actual insight into the mind and the life of these characters. Though, the one thing that could have helped this movie feel a bit more concise would have been better cinematography. The film doesn’t really try much with the camera execution. It feels very samey and every shot feels like a copy and paste from a previous shot but in a different location or with a different character.
The Bottom Line
So, I just simply can’t say I felt anything but moved by this picture. This film was just as refreshing and gut-wrenching as I remembered it to be, as I originally watched it when I was 15 years old. However, I am noticing some narrative inconsistencies and some filmmaking issues such as cinematography and pacing.
Though even still, this film does a great job of actually immersing you into the life of these characters and showing you how busted the foster care system in the United States truly is. This is a film that implores you to spread love and kindness all around you, and that is a message that we really need in today’s time.
