Centurion

Issue date: 12/8/09 Section: Arts and Entertainment

"The Blind Side" is a newly released
movie based on the true
story of Baltimore Ravens rookie
offensive lineman Michael Oher.
Like most sport movies, "The
Blind Side" has the generic
themes of failure, constant practice,
and eventual triumph. Director
John Lee Hancock does a
tremendous job of combining
strong family values and beliefs
into the movie's overall feeling,
which really created more of family-
drama type of movie that just
so happened to center around an
adopted football star.
The movie begins with a young
Michael Oher, played by Quinton
Aaron, drifting in and out of various
school systems and not having
a guaranteed roof over his
head every night. On one rainy
evening, Leigh and Sean Tuohy,
played by Sandra Bullock and
Tim McGraw, are heading home
to their upscale Memphis home
with their two young children
when they pass by Oher or "Big
Mike" wandering the streets.
Leigh is a sincere and helpful
person with somewhat controlling
tendencies and her heart immediately
goes out to Oher. She invites
him into her family's home for
what they propose as a one-night
deal that evolves into weeks,
months, and eventually years.
As the movie continues, the
viewers are slowly given a
glimpse of what Oher's life was
like before the Tuohys welcomed
him into their home. Throughout
"The Blind Side," Oher continues
to be very shy and quiet; however
he has short flashbacks to his
younger days when he was living
in the projects with his mother,
who was addicted to drugs.
During these flashbacks, the audience
can see that at a young age
Oher was taken from his mother's
custody and passed from foster
home to foster home. It's clear
that his mother's past drug use
and growing up in violent areas
had deep psychological effects on
Oher.
In one of the most telling scenes
he shares with Leigh how he was
able to overcome these challenges.
He tells Leigh that whenever
there was drug use or fights
in their apartment building that his
birthmother always had him
"close his eyes and count to
three… and then slowly open
them, and everything would be
right with the world."
This scene sheds a tremendous
amount of light on the social issues
facing not only Oher, but the
entire community of Memphis.
Director Hancock, along with the
cast of "The Blind Side," do a

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools