The Blind Side – A Rare Masterpiece Amid Action Films Dominating the Movie Scenes
Nowadays, like the rest, films are compartmentalized. We have become a society that functions and performs based primarily on focus group consultations, random samplings, and demographics. Gone were the days when films were produced to tell a good story, or feature a great actor or actress in a part that moved the heart. Perhaps it is because of the vast amounts of money spent on a film, with the cost of actor’s charges as one of the biggest expense. But if not for the known actor, maybe the film wouldn’t sell.
It’s a chicken and the egg scenario of who is to blame for the rocketing value of films and the decline of the standard of the movie narrative. We go back to compartmentalizing into 2 kinds of films : those that make the super bucks and the ones that don’t . And for those that want to make the mega bucks, they are further subdivided into groups : horror/slasher, action, and comedy. Barely do we have drama films that do make the hundred million mark at the box office. But due to the relatively low budget of the drama films, they do not have to. These are the films that are praised by the critics and frequently are given the Oscar nods. These are the pictures that couples like to watch, goaded particularly by the female to stimulate the mind of a frequently non responsive partner. These are narratives that teach a life lesson to us all, the ones that you would wish to collect in your DVD selection. And if we are lucky, we get a film that’s got a bit of action, a little bit of drama, a little bit of reality, a little bit of comedy, and a ton of things that makes one think about life.
We have one this year which has all of the above.
The Blind Side is a film based mostly on a true story about a young man given a second chance in life through the intercession of a female coach, who is as headstrong and bullish about how life should be lived and how values should be inculcated. Through the game of football, this young man is given an opportunity to show his excellent talent for the game and through his mentor, his adopted mom, so to speak, this young man learns how to live life. This film won for its lead actress, Sandra Bullock, her first academy award on her first nomination.
Perhaps it is about time to see the film and for the 1st time, enjoy a great movie and learn from it also.
