
**I actually have not gotten a chance to see the movie yet, but have heard good things and hope to see it soon. I did, however, come across a review of it written by Jay Swartzendruber over at
crosswalk.com that was helpful. He writes:
The remarkable true story of Memphis, Tenn.'s Tuohy family was first told in the 2006 New York Times best seller The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis (Moneyball, Liar's Poker). As the author explains, Sean Tuohy may
be the successful owner of 80 fast-food restaurants, and also be the
radio color commentator for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, but Sean
learned about poverty the hard way, having lived as a child in the
projects of New Orleans. And his brilliantly assertive wife Leigh Anne?
An accomplished interior decorator, she was raised the daughter of an
extremely racist United States Marshal. If only he could see her family now. The Blind Side, the movie based on Lewis' book, reveals how the Tuohys and their two children came to know and then welcome Michael Oher,
a 6-foot-5, 350-pound African American teenager living on the streets,
into their family. The shy son of an absent father and a mother
addicted to crack cocaine, "Big Mike" had lived in various foster
homes, slept on neighborhood porches and attended eleven different
schools before applying for admission to Memphis' Briarcrest Christian
School when he was 16. Despite Oher's disheartening 0.9 grade point
average, Briarcrest welcomed him with hopes that he would apply himself
as a student, and then become a standout on the football team. When the
Tuohys and Briarcrest's faculty invested themselves in Oher, he not
only turned his grades around and raised the school's profile among
prestigious college football programs, most importantly, he showed the
Tuohys how to be a family."Michael
was a blessing for the Tuohys, because he came in at a time when they
were all off doing their own thing and not really connecting as a
family," explains Quinton Aaron (Be Kind Rewind, Fighting),
the unusual 25-year-old actor who stars in the central role as Oher.
"He brought them together. He showed them the true value of what a
family really is, and they showed him a real family." While the Tuohy's evangelical Christian faith isn't pushed on audiences in the new movie, which also stars Tim McGraw (Friday Night Lights, Flicka) and Oscar winner Kathy Bates (Misery, Titanic),The Blind Side does
portray it respectfully both in the script and in how it is filmed.
Thanks, in a large part, should go to veteran filmmaker John Lee Hancock (The Rookie, The Alamo), who wrote the screenplay and directed The Blind Side.
Hancock, himself a believer, also emphasized the importance of finding
an actor who would meet the qualifications "both physically and
spiritually" to fill the main role as Oher. When Hancock finally
discovered Aaron, the director scored in spades: Gentle giant? Check.
Follower of Christ? Check. Played high school football in the South?
Check. Experienced poverty first hand? Check. Might win the Oscar?
Check back with the L.A. Times who originally posed the question.