Cinema Vitæ

Have you ever walked into a movie theater with high expectations for a significant cinematic experience only to find that your expectant posture sabotaged any real opportunity to enjoy the film? This happened to me with Good Will Hunting and it has occurred once again with The Blind Side. The question, “Have you seen Blind Side yet?” almost became comical as I played my mental game of trying to prognosticate who and under what circumstances I would be posed that question on any given day. Of course, the real damage wasn’t the asking, but the follow-up statement, “You’re just going to love it.” I have seen The Blind Side, and, no, I didn’t love it.

I didn’t hate it either. I found it mediocre at best. Part of the problem was I knew too much of the story going in. Combine this with predictable lensing, an uninspired soundtrack, and uninteresting scene decoration and the result: boredom.

Now, I do have one and a half praises for the film. My one praise goes to the thespians who made canned dialogue and significant pauses work to their favor. While Sandra Bullock still pretty much plays herself in this film, she has taken her “funny, but kind” character to a new level by adding a layer of no-nonsense attitude that may just be the closest thing we ever see to a break-out from her. True, we also saw it in The Proposal, but perhaps 2009 is her year to display a new “comical, but tough as nails, kindness.”

As for the rest of the cast, I did laugh along with Jae Head who provides comic relief as young S.J. Tuohy. He is clearly a first-rate child actor who does the best he can with cookie-cutter scenes that leave little opportunity for any real spontaneity. The actor most worthy of mention, however, is Quinton Aaron who portrays Michael Oher. He works silences, smiles, and a well-placed piece of dialogue like a seasoned veteran. I look forward to seeing him in future roles.

I offer my half praise for the film’s strong family values. While it is certainly refreshing to see a family-friendly film that tackles a challenging subject, I couldn’t shake my frustration that such fare always seems artistically bland. Are families settling for mediocre art for the sake of some higher moral? Pixar has proven that quality film-making and strong family stories can play nice together, so one must wonder why producers of live-action cinema haven’t quite mastered a weave of these two realities?

Should you see The Blind Side? Certainly. It stands as another worthy addition to the string of recently released “hopeful” films, which I, for one, look forward to seeing more of. Significant cinema, however, it is not.