Analysis of John Lee Hancock’s Film The Blind Side

The Bind Side that was once a book turned into a movie that rest on true events of NFL football player Michael Oher. Produced in 2009 by John Lee Hancock, this movie details the hardship of an orphaned, poorly educated, lost kid in Memphis, Tennessee. Through the help of a straight forward, no nonsense Christian woman named Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), that Michael will learn the meaning of family and reach heights that he never imagined. The Blind Side is an American biographical sports drama that appeals to watchers hearts and emotions, while at the same time displaying that human decency can extend far beyond the helping hand. This movie reflects an unimaginable, once in a lifetime experience, that leaves viewers reeling from the journey of Michael Oher. John Lee Hancock’s The Blind Side can be enjoyed by families for years to come because of the artistic camera work, presenting a multitude of themes that connect with each other, along with a dynamic character. In the movie The Blind Side, the character of Leigh Anne Tuohy is played by Sandra Bullock. Tuohy is seen as the matriarch of the family, who is a devoted Christian. She is also the person most responsible for helping Michael achieve success in life. In the movie, Bullock's character captured the true essence of Leigh Anne. In real life, Leigh Anne is this southern girl, with a firecracker attitude, that doesn't take any nonsense. She is compassionate and determined to help Michael out in life.

In the movie the watcher can see that Bullock arose to the challenge of channeling the real Leigh Anne. She accurately displayed the attitude when her and Michael have their first interaction together. She asks his “Do you have a place to stay,'' Michael replies with “Yes”, to which Leigh Anne replies back with “Don't you dare lie to me”. This shows that Bullock has the ability to grasp the uniqueness of a southern womens fiery attitude. At the same time of displaying her fiery attitude, Bullock also presented the other side of Leigh Anne, the protective side. This comes out when, Michela runs away for the first time and Leigh Anne goes to the “dreadful” part of town to find him, after Michael runs away from the house. This type of motherly instinct comes out when Leigh Anne goes to find him and comes across a group of drug dealers that throw out provocative slang terms, when the drug dealer calls Leigh Anne “Snowflake” ,and “bit**”. In response Leigh Anne who rolled her eyes and storms back up the stairs and says in an angry voice broadcasting how pissed off she is “ No you hear me bit**, you threatened my son, you threatened me, you so much as cross into downtown you will be sorry, I'm in a prayer group with the DEA, I’m a member of the NRA, and I’m always packing”, illustrating the fact that Bullock was able to channel the protective side of Leigh Anne.

Cinematography plays an important role in movies. It has the ability to manipulate the angle of the camera to make it feel like you are right there next to the action, leaving you as the watcher in suspense waiting for what comes next. The scene that manipulates the angle of the camera the most, is the one when Michael is playing his first high school football game. This specific scene begins with a long shot starting from the bleachers, showing the coaching staff along with Michael and the rest of the team on the field. Starting the scene off with a long shot, makes you feel as though you are sitting in the stands watching the action unfold. This allows the watcher to start developing into a football mindset like you would on a Saturday or Sunday. Following the opening long shot, the camera movies to an up close view of Michael and his opponent. Both of them are in a four-point stance facing each other, allowing you to see the intensity in their faces. Michael closes his eyes and waits for the quarterback to yell hike. Once the quarterback yells, “Go!” Michael proceeds to open his eyes and lunges forward towards his opponent. As Michael takes hold of his opponent the camera jumps to a new angle allowing for a new and different perspective. The scene changes to a full shot. In doing this, it allows the viewer to feel as if they are the referee running alongside Michael on the field. At the end of the scene the camera pans back around to Leigh Anne and Sean with an up-close shot, showing them overjoyed with the play that Michael just made, this allows the watcher feel as though they are a group of people turning around and looking at the Tuohy’s. This scene will also leave the watcher with the exact reaction that the Tuohy’s had. Thought out the movie there are a multitude of recurring themes, the first one that is presented right away is that human kindness, and decency can extend further than lending a hand to a person in need. One scene in particular shows that human decency has a long-lasting effect on a person, is when Collins sees the judgmental looks on her friends faces after they notice that Michael has walked into the library and is looking for a place to sit. So instead of continuing to sit with her friends who at some point might have made snarky, rude, or upsetting comments, and Collins chose to be the bigger person and move next to her much bigger, adoptive brother. It's through this act of human kindness and decency that will help set the foundation for Collin’s and Big Mike’s special brother sister relationship. The actions that Collins made by moving from her friends to go and sit next to Michael allowed him to start realizing that he is slowly being embraced by Collins, who initially was cautious with Michael being in her life and around her. It reinforces the theme that human decency can change a person's life for the better.

Another theme that emerges from the movie is the idea that an individual can rise above the surrounding conditions. Michael Oher falls victim to his mother's drug abuse, economic challenges and lack of a present family, however he never allows himself to become enticed by the promise of a wealthy future. Ohre remained genuine to the principles, and ideas that are valid and reflective to an insightful human. In the film Michael transcends the surrounding environment. Both on and off the field, he doesn't let himself become trapped by the conditions that surround him. By being able to transcend these conditions Michael demonstrates that individuals don’t have to feel as though they need to be limited by the conditions that envelop them. The last theme to come out of the movie is individuals versus societal norms. Both Michael and Leigh Anne have to deal with the challenges of the type of people around them, who constantly criticize them, and the actions they take. The social friends that Leigh Anne associates herself with refer to her embracement of Michael as “a project in the projects.” To save herself from a toxic group of stuck up rich people, Leigh Anne distances herself from them in a direct manner. Michael found himself in a similar situation when his former friends who are drug dealers insult Leigh Anne and Collins, Michael takes a page out of Leigh Anne’s book and distances himself. In both of these insinces the individual has to make a deliberate and mindful choice to break apart from the world that they live in, in order to have the opportunity to pursue what they believe in along with the people that they love.