Movie Review

Name: The Blind Side

PG: 13

Length: 02:29:32

Rating: 7/10

Director: John Lee Hancock

Writers: Michael Lewis (Book), John Lee Hancock

By Mohau Ramashidja

Shaking off the mindset of the matrix he was born into turned out not to be an easy task for him to implement. “I go to the bathroom, look into the mirror and say ‘This is not Michael Oher’,” he said.

Born to a mother who was a drug addict and forming part of the 12 siblings from different fathers, Michael Oher had to learn how to survive on his own. Having been in and out of foster homes Oher finds himself living off the streets and sometimes accommodated over a friend’s house for a night.  

The Blind Side: Staring Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy and Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher is a must see.

If you are an emotional rollercoaster ride junky then this is a definite fix for your uncontrollable habit. Based on a true story, this biographical tale takes you straight in to the wits and warts-and-all of the making of the “NFL Star” Michael Oher.

An unplanned motherly affection towards a homeless child and the adaptability of the child’s new understanding of being loved, will keep you glued to your screens throughout.

Amongst many other things, John Lee Hancock did a commendable job by bringing to light the racial divide between Blacks and Whites and the gap between the rich and the poor within the American society.

The movie however, failed to share a light on the fact that Sean Tuohy, before becoming a millionaire, grew up a poor White child, hence that’s why he had a heart of helping out kids from disadvantaged backgrounds (Black or White). Second, although it was the Tuohys who took Michael in, it wasn’t Leigh Anne (Sean’s wife) who taught the boy how to play football.

Maybe it is advisable that, after watching this piece, you get yourself a copy of Michael Louis’ The Blind Side: The Evolution of a Game; published 2006. The scenery is much better there.