By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
?Blinded by the Light,? from director/screenwriter Gurinda Chadha (?Bend It Like Beckham?) is an energetic, coming-of-age dramedy adapted from BBC/Guardian journalist
Sarfraz Manzoor?s 2007 memoir: ?Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock ?n? Roll.?
The movie is steeped in 1980s nostalgia and the music of Bruce Springsteen which will undoubtedly delight The Boss?s diehard fans and perhaps win over new ones.
In ?Blinded by the Light? newcomer
Viveik Kalra plays an introverted Pakistani teen named Javed. He lives in the small, blue-collar English town of Luton with his strict factory worker father Malik (Kulvinder Ghir, TV?s ?Beecham House?) and overbearing, but well-intentioned mother Noor (Meera Ganatra).
Javed is an aspiring poet filled with an abundance of angst. Although he?s only 16, he?s longing to do more with his life. Working in a factory might be fine for his dad, but Javed?s bored. He knows there?s something happening somewhere much better than Luton where he routinely endures racist taunts and is spat upon by skinheads who make it clear that they don?t want immigrants around.
So, to shut out his anger and frustrations, Javed writes good poetry and songs for his best friend, Matt (Dean-Charles Chaplin, TV?s ?Into the Badlands?) who fronts a New Wave band.
Javed?s father believes he?s wasting his time with this writing stuff and tells him he should consider getting a real job to help support the family. Ideally, dad wants him to become a doctor or lawyer.
At first it seems as if Javed?s life will always be dictated by his parents. Then his teacher Ms. Clay (Hayley Atwell, ?Avengers: Endgame? and TV?s ?3 Below: Tales of Arcadia?) reads some of his poems and tells him he?s talented enough to be published and get a college scholarship.
Things are looking up now especially when Javed?s cute classmate Eliza (Nell Williams, TV?s ?Game of Thrones?) throws some interest his way.
But when Javed meets Sikh classmate Roops (a funny Aaron Phagura, TV?s ?Informers?) in the school cafeteria, it changes his life in a major way.
Roops, loans Javed a cassette of Springsteen?s ?Born in the USA? and when he pops it in his Sony Walkman, he?s instantly mesmerized by the lyrics. ?Dancing in the Dark? speaks to his heart and soul.
Javed?s family doesn?t understand him, but ?The Boss? sure does. Thanks to Springsteen, Javed has a new lease on life. He?s more confident now and unafraid to stand up to his father and talk about his dreams and goals. They include being a writer much to dad?s dismay.
With ?Blinded by the Light,? Director Gurinda Chadha isn?t afraid to bring some edginess to the film and sets it against the backdrop of Britain?s economic/political upheaval and rise of the neo-Nazi National Front.
Even so, most all the problems Javed and his family encounter are resolved and play out a bit too pat and neatly.
Still, the film?s undeniable, feel-good message that music can be transformative and powerful--or as the O?Jays sang; ?a healing force of the world that?s understood by every man, woman, boy and girl?-- shines through with pitch-perfect sincerity.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Check Out This Trailer For
"BLINDED BY THE LIGHT"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of The Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
