'Blinded by the Light' Review

sunamakeup Ağustos 05, 2021

Synopsis: In 1987, during the austere days of Margaret Thatcher's Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family, pursue his dreams, and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.

Runtime: 118 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for thematic material and language including some ethnic slurs)

Who should see it? Fans of Bruce Springsteen's music and coming-of-age films.

Inspired by the life of Bruce Springsteen super-fan Sarfraz Manzoor as well as words and music from "The Boss" himself, Blinded by the Light is directed by Gurinder Chadha, co-written by Chadha, Manzoor, and Paul Mayeda Berges, and follows in the footsteps of 2019's other cinematic odes to popular musicians. Rocketman retold Elton John's life story as a fantastical jukebox musical. Yesterday chronicled the struggles of an artist as he dealt with the moral and ethical implications of exploiting The Beatles' music amidst rising stardom. Like those films, Blinded by the Light is a unique celebration of a renowned performer's discography as it details a Pakistani teenager's discovery of the unfathomable parallels between Bruce Springsteen's lyrics and the everyday dilemmas facing Pakistani immigrants.

Chadha's depiction of the personal connection between Javed and Springsteen's work impeccably encapsulates the experience of unearthing an obsession and becoming a fan. Though not everyone in the audience will identify with Javed's individual enthusiasm for Bruce Springsteen, viewers can connect to the moment they found their passion. Viewing Springsteen's music through Javed's perspective grants it new life. The lyrics weren't intended to fit Javed's particular situation, but the fact it can be perceived that way underscores the subjective essence of media. Everyone has a different takeaway from reading a book, listening to music, or watching a movie, and that's the beauty of art.

Despite being positioned as a feel-good crowdpleaser, Blinded by the Light addresses some hard-hitting subject matter. As Javed faces a troubled home-life, financial woes, and xenophobia, none of these hardships seem superficial. Therefore, his immersion into poetry, creative writing, and Springsteen's music genuinely feels like a joyous escape from an unforgiving world. It's a relief for Javed and the audience that he finds temporarily solace from life's adversities. I can't resist respecting Gurinder Chadha, Sarfraz Manzoor, and Paul Mayeda Berges for fleshing out Javed's misfortune since these circumstances are often watered-down in mainstream media for commerciality. Regardless, the story's still very sentimental, and the sequences set to Springsteen's hits are gleeful, to say the least.

However, the film's not without shortcomings. Occasionally, Chadha gets lost in the frenzy of narrative threads, so certain story elements don't have enough dedicated screen time to justify their inclusion. Most notably, Javed's childhood friend Matt was relegated to a subplot on the outskirts. So I wasn't invested in that relationship when conflict arose, and the catalyst setting off said drama was a bit unclear to me. I'm unsure whether Matt is based on an actual person, but scenes involving his character tended to be easily dismissed as irrelevant. Emotionally, the film doesn't wholly hit its stride till the ending, and the musical set-pieces lacked a visual pizazz to engage me completely.

Where acting is concerned, Viveik Kalra provides an astounding breakthrough performance as Javed. His enthusiasm for Springsteen is infectious while his emotionally vulnerable moments are quite poignant and equally convincing. Playing his disapproving father Malik, Kulvinder Ghir fleshes out an often two-dimensional archetype. Ghir profoundly articulates a conflict between upholding traditional values and a love for his son. And this clash between father and son is especially moving as the film's centerpiece. The remaining cast serves the script well but are confined to select scenes as Javed's encouragers. Hayley Atwell, Neil Williams, and Aaron Phagura are notable stand-outs in that regard.

Consider me stunned because Blinded by the Light is far-and-away one of the year's more charming releases. It's earnest, affecting, and offers so much to say about varying state of affairs while paying tribute to "The Boss."