Blinded By the Light - Review

 

A semi-musical about the work of Bruce Springsteen set in 1987 Britain and focusing on a young Pakistani boy who wants to be a writer. It’s quite an interesting pitch, but the fact that it’s based on the main character’s memoir and having the writer/director of “Bend It Like Beckham” involved makes “Blinded By The Light” a much easier sell than it otherwise would have been.

Because, let’s face it, unless you’re going the fantastical route like Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday,” movies that focus on a beloved artist’s work and their belovedness are kind of dorky. Thankfully, writer/director Gurinder Chadha (“Bend It Like Beckham,” “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging”) embraces that dorkiness head-on. For every emotional revelation underscored by a Springsteen song, lyrics float across the screen or crackle across the edges of buildings. It at times feels like an overblown music video, but it works because these moments are there simply to supplement the main character’s emotional state, not to take the place of it.

That main character is Javed Khan, played with wide-eyed charm by Viveik Kalra (“Next of Kin”). He’s charming and a bit odd, but the kind of person who’s instantly likeable. His difficulties are easy to identify with and he fills the everyman archetype flawlessly. His best friend Roops and his girlfriend Eliza, played by Aaron Phagura (“Suburban Dracula”) and Nell Williams (“London Town,” “The Revolting World of Stanley Brown”), respectively, are just as likeable and charming. As the film progresses, it does a wonderful job showing their relationships grow and deepen, giving legitimacy to their emotional arcs.

The supporting cast is also excellent, if sporadically used. Javed’s father, played by Kulvinder Ghir (“Lunch Monkeys,” “Jadoo”) is a very strong familial anchor, and Ghir’s performance could easily suggest best-supporting actor campaigns in the future. His mother, sisters, neighbor, and the rest of the town are all well performed and likeable.

However, underneath all of the song montages, likeable characters, and warm cinematography, “Light” is doing backstrokes through swimming pools filled with syrupy sweet cheese. To call this film corny would be an understatement. As powerful as Springsteen’s songs are, and as much as they work within the context of the film, by the fifth time Javed says “It’s like he’s speaking directly to me,” audience’s eyes may roll so far back they could see their brains.

Therefore, it’s a testament to the quality of Kalra’s performance and to Chadha’s directorial work that the corniness of it all never crashes the earnest and dorkiness that make the film such a delight. Yes, it’s cheesy, but it’s also a crowd-pleaser, knowing exactly when and where to deploy its buckets of charm to make audiences grin and cheer.

Within its crowd-pleasing nature though, Chadha and her fellow screenwriters Paul Mayeda Berges (“Bend It Like Beckham,” “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging”) and Sarfraz Manzoor, who wrote the memoir the film is based on, dip deep into the film’s overall theme with some surprising results. Not content to leave things as surface level as “Follows your dreams,” much of the film examines how badly that can be if you completely isolate yourself, souring even the best experiences and memories. For a film that is a feel-good crowd-pleaser, it’s a remarkably dark and professional examination.

Despite feeling as though it’s coated in cheese for most, but not all, of its runtime, “Blinded By The Light” succeeds thanks to its charismatic cast and willingness to embrace its adoration of the Boss who inspired it. This is the film equivalent of the dorky kid who won’t stop talking about his favorite artist. You may roll your eyes from time to time, but you can’t deny the pure love and passion that lies at the center. 4/5