| CultureWatch DVD Review - The Blind Side |
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Nobody thinks Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) has much of a future. He’s a big, uncommunicative African-American boy  from a rough part of Memphis. His father has long since disappeared, his mother is a crack addict, and he has nothing besides the clothes he is wearing and a few things in a carrier bag. Then Wingate Christian School agrees to take Michael on, but the staff struggle to help him as he lacks any aptitude for learning. One rainy night the Tuohy family drive past him on their way home. Their son knows Big Mike from school, so Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) tells her husband to stop the car. When she learns that Michael has nowhere to sleep, she insists on taking him home with the family. Michael ends up staying and eventually becomes part of the family. He’s a gentle giant, with no trace of resentment or hostility. But he’s also extremely quiet, and it takes Leigh Anne some time to gradually understand his dreadful history. The obvious sport for Big Mike is American Football, but he isn’t aggressive enough and the coach begins to despair. Then Leigh Anne realises that Michael’s greatest strength is his protective instincts. When she explains to him that his job on the field is to protect the quarterback, everything changes. He becomes a powerful force on the field and goes on to be a major NFL star. Meanwhile, Leigh Anne’s friends are perplexed. Like her, they are wealthy Republicans, so they can’t figure out why Leigh Anne could possibly be serious about adopting a black kid from such a dreadful background. But unlike her, they have not yet realised that Christian faith is not about “nice” people having a nice time. It’s good news for everyone. Leigh Anne has realised that her faith in God needs to show itself by concern for those he is concerned for. For the first time, it seems, she understands that Christianity has always been good news to the poor, the stranger and the disenfranchised. The Tuohy family’s attitudes and actions towards Michael reflect God’s. They show him compassion and great kindness, and finally adopt him as their own son. This is grace – which is just what God offers to us through Jesus even though we don’t deserve it. And as for Michael, receiving grace opens up a future that is full of hope rather than despair. Tony Watkins |
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