The Blind Side

It might be based on a true story but The Blind Side nevertheless conforms to the typical Hollywood sports movie template. The triumph against adversity is never in doubt (because we know the outcome) while the black footballer himself is a supporting character in his own story (and so inarticulate you want to shake him to get some kind of response) The attention is focussed instead on Leanne, the wealthy white Christian Republican fairy godmother. She's a woman who, you sense, has never - and will never - take no for an answer and is used to getting her own way (her husband's wry responses suggest as much) The film implies that Christian charity was her overwhelming motive although a mildly dissenting opinion is raised towards the end without receiving too much credence. Either way it patronisingly suggests that the only way for poor black children to make a better life for themselves is through the agency of enlightened white folk.