Based on the nonfiction book by Michael Lewis, this potent tearjerker tells the story of Michael Oher, a gigantic black teenager from impoverished West Memphis who, accepted as a charity case by a local Christian academy and taken in by a wealthy white family, became an All America offensive tackle and was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens. The story is inspiring and involves sports, but to call it an inspirational sports story would be wrong; its real center is Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock in a fine performance), the strong-willed woman whose love and generosity helped turn a mute, hopeless boy with no social or academic skills into a functioning young man with a promising future. Some will call the movie racially paternalistic, and they may well be right, but as a fable about the power of giving, it hits pretty hard. John Lee Hancock (The Rookie) directed his own script; with Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, and Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher.
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