So anyway, Sandra Bullock stars (oh and don’t we all know it) in this film that follows the true story of Michael Oher, a young homeless African American taken in by a privileged white family. Through their support, care and funds, he finds his calling and goes on to lead a life better than any of us ever will. Bastard.

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Sandra plays Leigh Ann Tuohy, forceful head of the family that takes Michael in, whose life is changed forever by the young boy. So the question is, is it an Oscar winning performance? No. Bullock does the role very well, and she’s in basically every scene, so you know, lots of acting gets done. In terms of kilograms of acting she does, the film gets pretty heavy. It’s bulging with the stuff. But the thing is, though Sandra portrays the stern go-getting mom with a heart of gold very well, it’s not really a massively stretching part. The fact that she got an Oscar for it almost makes you sit waiting for the ‘Oscar bit’ to kick in, and considering all the hype we actually end up feeling a bit sorry for her. It’s a bit like when a parent goes on and on about how their child is a genius on the bassoon, and then the poor kid is wheeled out and forced to squeak Three Blind Mice as the mother claps and weeps in the background.

I’m Not Crying, There’s Just Testosterone In My Eyes

But, Oscar controversy aside, this is still a sweet film, and the fact that it’s a true story can’t help but pull at your heartstrings. The script manages to stay away from over-sentimentalizing (mostly) and Kathy Bates pops in for a rather baffling role as a tutor who with lines like “Your brain is like a filing cabinet… with maps”, we hope is supposed to sound a bit weird.

The only real problem with this film is that it’s almost too nice. The actual events make such a fuzzy and yummy story that it seems like the writers felt obliged to shoe-horn a bit of ‘bad stuff’, including a very forced feeling sub-plot involving ‘an investigator’ that never really gets off the ground. Relax, makers of this film. The story is fine as it is. The closing credits are almost the best part (that’s better than it sounds), with photos of the real life Tuohy family with Michael Oher, bashing home the fact that there really are people that gooey and lovely in the world. A happy, sunny romp through the less horrid characteristics of the human race, there’s plenty to enjoy in The Blind Side, just as long as any cynicism can fall on deaf ears.

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