The Blind Side is a 2009 American semi-biographical sports drama film. It was written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who plays for the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. The film follows Oher from his impoverished upbringing, through his years at Wingate Christian School (a fictional representation of Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee), his adoption by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, to his position as one of the most highly coveted prospects in college football, then finally becoming a first-round pick in the NFL by the Baltimore Ravens.Sandra Bullock stars as Leigh Anne Tuohy, alongside Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, and Kathy Bates as Miss Sue. The movie also features appearances by several current and former NCAA coaches, including SEC coaches Houston Nutt and Ed Orgeron (Oher's coaches in college, though Nutt represented Arkansas at the time and therefore does so in the film) and Nick Saban (who was at LSU at the time and represents it in the film), former coaches Lou Holtz, Tommy Tuberville, Phillip Fulmer, as well as recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.The Blind Side was a box-office success, grossing over $300 million. The film was well received by critics, who praised Sandra Bullock's performance. Bullock went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. The film also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
Movie Details:
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Produced by: Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, Gil Netter
Screenplay by: John Lee Hancock
Based on: The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates
Music by: Carter Burwell
Cinematography: Alar Kivilo
Edited by: Mark Livolsi
Production company: Alcon Entertainment, Fortis Film
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates: November 20, 2009
Running time: 129 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $29 million
Box office: $309,208,309
Plot:
"The Blind Side" is based on the remarkable true story of Tennessee Titans offensive left tackle Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron). Michael grew up in the inner city housing projects with his mother in Memphis, Tennessee aptly named "Hurt Village". Michael's story begins with him being homeless and coming from a broken home with a drug-addicted mother, and an absentee father. Because of his family circumstances, Family Services took control of his life as he was growing up. Unfortunately, he was being bounced around in and out of foster homes, and now as a teenager he has taken it upon himself that he would rather be homeless. By a stroke of luck, and the coach's wish for a player the size of Michael, he ends up enrolling in a private Christian school where the Tuohy kids go. Michael is a quiet person. He is shown to have a kind of childish personality, because he tries to play with kindergarten children (Rachel St. Gelais) who reject or ignore him. Michael is befriended by S.J. Tuohy (Jae Head), the youngest Tuohy whose connection to Michael starts the ball rolling.One icy winter night, as Michael is walking down the road to the school gym, where he is sleeping, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) with her husband Sean (Tim McGraw) and children Jae and Collins (Lily Collins) pick Michael up and take him home for the night. However, he stays for the next night, which puzzles Sean, although the children accept Michael matter-of-factly. Soon, Leigh Anne offers him a room and bed. As she starts making him greater and greater favours, he comes to research through Michael's exams, and the only positive feedback that teachers could ever say about him is that he had big protective instincts. Leigh Anne will use that to explain him how to play in the field. Up to that moment, he wasn't able to get the hang of the game and its rules, and he wasn't able to understand what his role in the field was.From that moment, Michael starts to play well and be useful to his team. At the traditional Christmas card photograph of that year, Leigh Anne invites him to appear on the photo. Leigh Anne's friends Beth (Rhoda Griffs), Elaine (Eaddy Mays) and Sherry (Ashley LeConte Campbell) meet regularly at a local expensive restaurant. The friends laugh about Leigh Anne's "project in the projects", but she cuts it off, saying that if they don't respect what she does, she will stop seeing them. An opportunity arises for Michael to play at university level. However, he needs his grades to improve, so the Tuohys hire a private tuition teacher, outspoken and kind Miss Sue (Kathy Bates), who will immediately succeed. During their Geography lesson, she makes a senseless remark about a university burying the bodies of dead people in their game field, which Michael seems to believe blindly.There comes a moment when Leigh Anne wants to have a face-to-face conversation with Michael's mother (Adriane Lenox). Although she seems unresponsive in the beginning, the mother finally wishes Michael the best. She says that social services had branded Michael "a runner", and she forecasts that Leigh Anne will find one day that he has run away for good without giving any previous notice. Leigh Anne also faces some guys from the projects which had threatened Michael before. They are left speechless when she threatens them and is not afraid of them at all. Three universities want Michael. S.J. talks to the coaches, and leads the negotiations on Michael's behalf. When Michael gets his grades high enough, he must make a decision, and he does. He chooses the university where Sean had played for, and where Leigh Anne was a cheerleader. That causes Investigator Granger (Sharon Morris) to move onto the matter before Michael arrives there. She questions him as though they were holding interrogatory preceding at a police station. She thinks that the Tuohys and Miss Sue are using Michael to benefit that particular university.
After thinking and questioning Leigh Ann on the matter, Michael realizes that the Tuohys are now his family, and tells Granger that that's the reason for him to choose that university. The film ends saying that he'll succeed and become a professional player later on. S.J went out to the gamefield with Michael before all local games.
