I pretty much love any 1980s period piece and I love coming-of-age stories, so I had little doubt that I would enjoy Blinded by the Light, the story of a Pakistani teenager (Viveik Kalra) living in Luton, England in 1987 who has his dreams of becoming a writer inspired when he hears the music of Bruce Springsteen for the first time, despite the disapproval of his strict father (Kulvinder Ghir). Although I'm not super familiar with Bruce Springsteen's music (I know only his biggest hits), I still had a good time with most of what Blinded by the Light had to offer. The film combines comedy, drama, and music into a fun, moving, and altogether unique two hours at the movies.
The cast of Blinded by the Light is uniformly excellent. Both the teenage roles and the adult roles are perfectly cast, and every performance is done just right. The disapproving father and the long-suffering son are two biggest clichés in television and film, but because Viveik Kalra and Kulvinder Ghir are strong actors, they are able to overcome the predictable nature of the story. In supporting roles, Rob Brydon, Hayley Atwell, Nell Williams, and Dean-Charles Chapman all make the most of their small parts, turning what could have been throwaway roles into fairly memorable parts. Unfortunately, some of their characters' plot lines don't get resolved in a completely satisfying way, so the end of the film isn't all it could have been. The first two acts of Blinded by the Light work almost perfectly, but the last act doesn't work nearly as well as what came before.
While some story elements may disappoint, where Blinded by the Light never disappoints is in the music. There are very few scenes that aren't accompanied by a classic 1980s song. Most of the soundtrack obviously consists of Bruce Springsteen songs, although there are also tracks from Tiffany, Cutting Crew, and a-ha are also featured. There is great song after great song all over the film. This could have seemed super forced as an excuse to sell a soundtrack, yet the songs seem well placed within the context of the film. The movie never turns into a full blown musical, staying firmly realistic when it could have become ridiculous. Additionally, in terms of visual style, the lyrics to some of Springsteen's greatest hits are occasionally splattered across the screen, a unique idea that is used just sparingly enough as to not become gimmicky.
Blinded by the Light was probably never going to become a huge box office hit, as its appeal is a fairly limited, but it's also the type of movie that has future cult favorite written all over it. Those who like coming-of-age of age tales, period pieces, or 1980s music are bound to find much to like here. Despite some clichés, it's a feel-good, surprisingly sweet film worth checking out. 7/10
The cast of Blinded by the Light is uniformly excellent. Both the teenage roles and the adult roles are perfectly cast, and every performance is done just right. The disapproving father and the long-suffering son are two biggest clichés in television and film, but because Viveik Kalra and Kulvinder Ghir are strong actors, they are able to overcome the predictable nature of the story. In supporting roles, Rob Brydon, Hayley Atwell, Nell Williams, and Dean-Charles Chapman all make the most of their small parts, turning what could have been throwaway roles into fairly memorable parts. Unfortunately, some of their characters' plot lines don't get resolved in a completely satisfying way, so the end of the film isn't all it could have been. The first two acts of Blinded by the Light work almost perfectly, but the last act doesn't work nearly as well as what came before.
While some story elements may disappoint, where Blinded by the Light never disappoints is in the music. There are very few scenes that aren't accompanied by a classic 1980s song. Most of the soundtrack obviously consists of Bruce Springsteen songs, although there are also tracks from Tiffany, Cutting Crew, and a-ha are also featured. There is great song after great song all over the film. This could have seemed super forced as an excuse to sell a soundtrack, yet the songs seem well placed within the context of the film. The movie never turns into a full blown musical, staying firmly realistic when it could have become ridiculous. Additionally, in terms of visual style, the lyrics to some of Springsteen's greatest hits are occasionally splattered across the screen, a unique idea that is used just sparingly enough as to not become gimmicky.
Blinded by the Light was probably never going to become a huge box office hit, as its appeal is a fairly limited, but it's also the type of movie that has future cult favorite written all over it. Those who like coming-of-age of age tales, period pieces, or 1980s music are bound to find much to like here. Despite some clichés, it's a feel-good, surprisingly sweet film worth checking out. 7/10