Blinded by the Light

Starring: Viveik Kalra, Hayley Atwell, Aaron Phagura, Rob Brydon, Dean-Charles Chapman, Kulvinder Ghir, Nikita Nehta, Meera Ganatra, David Hayman
Directed by: Gurinder Chadha
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A British-Pakastani boy (Viveik Kalra) struggles with his father and racism in a working class neighborhood. His life takes a profound turn when he discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen.

Review:

Tim: I didn't know much about Blinded by the Light when I sat down to watch it. I had a cursory understanding of the role Bruce Springsteen's music played and I'd heard it was an uplifting film. I really enjoyed the movie. It's a heartfelt story that is based on a true story. It's not a typical film and that was refreshing. This is a solid movie.

The story of Javed was quite intriguing. One of the great attributes of movies is that we get to see the world through someone else's eyes. Here, Javed is a British citizen with Pakastani ancestry. He lives in Britain during a time of economic uncertainty and racism against his people. He's at a precarious place in his own life- he has an overbearing father who leads the family as if they were still in Pakistan. Javed is a Brit, though, and he hasn't yet found his place in the world. We watch his life develop during this time as he faces adversity- both externally and internally. The story is a powerful one, as it touches on socioeconomic classes, racism, high school life, romance, friendship, and of course, Bruce Springsteen.

The fact that Javed's life is transformed by listening to Springsteen is the most unique twist to this movie, but it's a fantastic one. I have to admit I don't often listen to Springsteen, but this movie reinvigorated my enjoyment of his songs. It reminded me that when I was about five or six years old, I absolutely loved "Born in the USA". It was my favorite song. Fast forward 30+ years and because of this film, I put it on for my five year-old son and 18 month-old daughter and they've both been dancing to Springsteen's music for a few weeks now. I say all that because this film approaches Springsteen's music with the same wide-eyed wonder as Javed does. The scenes where you visually saw Springsteen's lyrics were excellent, as they depicted how deeply they resonated in Javeed's life. This movie is absolutely about Springsteen's music, but it's also more than that- it's about the power that great music has to influence our lives. We've all experienced that and this movie encapsulates that feeling.

Viveik Kalra was so good as Javeed. He brought intelligence and vulnerability to the role. We were able to see the world through his eyes and develop an emotional connection with him. I loved seeing Hayley Atwell here in a supporting role. She made an out-sized contribution based on her limited screen time. Aaron Phagura was fantastic in his role. His performance felt so full of energy and zest- he communicates a great deal with his eyes and emerges as one of the most memorable aspects of the film. His character's love of Springsteen rivals Javed's and Phagura is able to make that believable. His performance is excellent. Kulvinder Ghir also gave a tremendous performance as Javed's father. This was a tricky role, because he's often set up as the antagonist to Javed. He had to walk a fine balance- he acts in ways that we disagree with and are sometimes hard to watch, but he needed to convey the love behind even his worst parental decisions. He's able to pull this off in perhaps the best performance of the film. I wasn't a big fan of Nell Williams' performance. She far too forgettable in her role.

Now, I really enjoyed this movie and following the story of Javed. One of the big issues with this movie is that the story ultimately becomes too repetitive. Javed loves Springsteen, most people don't. He and his father clash. He writes and dreams of being a writer. Eventually, we get the picture, and yet it keeps going. By the time the wedding scenes came around, I was really getting worn down by the film. It's just under two hours and quite frankly, it's 10-15 minutes too long. We eventually get to a resolution point with Javed's story, but it feels like it takes forever to get there. That blunts some of the impact. Gurinder Chadha directs a good movie, but one that needed to be more focused.

Despite that, I enjoyed Blinded by the Light. It's an uplifting movie that tells a story that feels unique. It was entertaining, thought provoking, and at multiple times, fun. This is a movie I'm really happy I watched.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Bend it Like Beckham