Blinded by ‘The Blind Side’?
Posted By The Editors | December 4th, 2009 | Category: The Drinking Gourd | No Comments »
Print This Post By Paula Woods
This must the year for abused black children in Hollywood movies. First there was Precious, the Lee Daniels-directed megahit, in which a 16-year old Harlem girl rises above illiteracy and multiple forms of parental abuse to reclaim her children and her future. Now there is The Blind Side, in which a 16-year old Memphis boy rises above parental neglect and a low grade point average to discover his innate athleticism and claim his future as a football star for Ole Miss and the Baltimore Ravens.
The big difference (other than gender and geography) is that The Blind Side is based on the true story of West Memphis teen Michael Oher, one of eleven children born to a crack-addicted mother who was taken in by well-to-do East Memphis whites Sean and Leign Anne Tuohy and their family. The other big difference is the presence of Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne, a no-nonsense interior decorator and alpha mom who sees the homeless 16-year old, enrolled in the same Christian private school as her children, walking along a road in a T-shirt and shorts one cold night before Thanksgiving and offers him shelter.
That offer of shelter turns into a permanent home for young Michael, a gentle, virtually mute giant of a kid, and simplistic lessons in race relations for Leigh Anne, who faces down her momentary misgivings, her racist girlfriends and a child welfare system that had lost track of, and interest in, Michael years before. Bullock is a force of nature in her thick makeup, tight-fitting clothes and stilettos, using the snap and sass on display in this summer’s romantic comedy The Proposal to embody conservative Republican Touhy as she steamrolls over any opposition to her plans to get Michael’s grades on track, his football skills in order, and college options lined up.
But Bullock wouldn’t be as effective in her role were it not for the balance provided by country singer Tim McGraw as her amiable and loving husband or, more importantly, newcomer Quenton Aaron as young Michael Oher. Aaron imbues Michael with a dignity and grace under extreme pressure that makes him a sympathetic character long before he encounters the Tuohys. Taking his cues from Michael Lewis’ bestselling book examining the evolution of football in which Oher is profiled, the 6’10”, 25-year old wears the suffering brought on by Oher’s haphazard life like a weight on his broad shoulders. Good fortune is followed by multiple reversals, not the least of which is learning his estranged father jumped (or was pushed) from a highway overpass. By the time he encounters the Tuohys, Michael’s dire circumstances makes viewers wish someone would help this child.
No comments:
Post a Comment