30-second review: Blinded by the Light has a lot on its mind — for better and worse. Thanks to some inventive musical staging of Bruce Springsteen’s greatest hits like “Dancing in the Dark” and “Born to Run,” director Gurinder Chadha delivers a crowd-pleasing and uplifting musical romp. However, that’s just half the movie. The other half is a raw and heartbreaking look at 1980s Britain under Margaret Thatcher complete with high unemployment and the rise of white supremacy. Sound familiar?
It’s clear Chadha wanted to explore more than what’s on the surface of the story, and it’s refreshing that a mainstream crowd-pleaser has deeper themes. However, it also feels like there are two movies — the lighthearted and terminally delightful comedy and realistic present-day allegory — battling for the spotlight, which ends up being detrimental to both parts.
Where to watch Blinded by the Light: Now playing in theaters.
Full review below ?
There’s a lot to admire about Blinded by the Light — its ambition chief among them. Just like Javed (Viveik Kalra), the British-Pakistani teen with dreams outside of his small English town, the movie has a lot on its mind.
It’s 1987 Britain. Thatcher is Prime Minister, the white supremacist group National Front marches in the streets, and the number of jobs is dwindling by the day. Sound familiar? Like many of the feel-good, crowd-pleasing movies before it, Blinded by the Light tackles issues facing our society today through the lens of its character’s lives. To its credit, it avoids being terminally delightful and isn’t afraid to face them head-on.
And while all these terrible things are happening around him, all Javed can think about is how to get out of his small town and out from under the thumb of his strict, traditional Pakistani father Malik (Kulvinder Ghir). Javed has dreams of becoming a writer. His nose is constantly buried in his journal writing about his day or poems or lyrics for his friend Matt’s (Dean-Charles Chapman) band.
However, it isn’t until a chance encounter with Roops (Aaron Phagura), the only other South Asian student at the school, that all his musings click. That’s because Roops introduces him to “The Boss” himself — Bruce Springsteen. All the frustrations, thoughts and dreams that Javed has been confused by are encapsulated in Springsteen’s lyrics — and it’s freeing.
One night when he’s feeling particularly down and throws away all his writing, he pops in a cassette and listens to “Dancing in the Dark.” The lyrics literally swirl around his head and are projected on walls as he twirls around finally feeling seen for the first time in his life. It’s that kind of innovative and impressionistic filmmaking by director Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham) that make Blinded by the Light a joy to watch.
Inspired and motivated, the usually shy and introverted Javed begins to do things he never thought he’d be able to like demanding to have his work considered for the school paper, showing his writing to his English teacher (Hayley Atwell), and asking out his crush Eliza (Nell Williams). Just as you’d expect, things start going his way as he continues to dive further into Springsteen’s work and evokes him in any way he can — the clothes, the hair, the attitude.
But the movie doesn’t stop there.
Javed’s journey is anything but smooth. He’s antagonized daily by white supremacists telling him to leave the country. His father discounts his desire to be a writer and regularly admonishes his love of Springsteen and both British and American culture. All the while, his sister is arranged to be married and his mother Noor (Meera Ganatra doing great work) is working day and night to support the family when Malik is laid off from his factory job.
Both halves — the lighthearted musical crowdpleaser and the dramatic present-day allegory — are successful in their own right. It’s when the two parts are combined that the movie loses some of its sheen. That’s because it tries to put together two tones that don’t work. There’s an inherent corniness to Javed’s journey. You’ve seen it all before — and that’s fine. But the very real conflicts brought about by the world they’re living in make it all seem trite. Maybe that’s being cynical. I really admire what the movie is trying to do, but it isn’t entirely successful.
Though, there’s still a lot to enjoy about it. Kalra’s performance as Javed is filled with charisma and charm. It’s impossible to turn away from the screen when he’s on it. And the musical numbers are hard to resist. Then again, most of Springsteen’s songs are hard to resist. And the story of the son of immigrants caught between two cultures is so rich — and explored extremely well in this year’s The Farewell. It’s just a matter of the movie being less than the sum of its parts.
Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter here. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.
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