Blinded by the Light
Starring: Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Haley Atwell, Dean-Charles Chapman
Directed by: Gurinder Chadha
Rated: PG-13
Everyone has a band, singer, or duo whose music speaks to them in a specific way. In Blinded by the Light, Bruce Springsteen’s music paves the way for a teen who dreams of a better life. Javed is a high school senior living in Luton, England, with his Pakistani family. Javed suffers racist attacks from members of the town and a tumultuous political environment. Not to mention, things are stifling at home with his intense father deciding every single step the family makes. Javed wants to make it out of the small town that is crushing his dreams of becoming a great writer. When he discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen, he feels understood. Can The Boss’ tunes help him get out of the small town and into a different life?
Blinded By the Light is directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham) and follows one teen’s dream to become a writer. Chadha directs the film with a strong 1980’s aesthetic. Several sequences feel like MTV music videos put on the big screen. The first moment Javed discovers Bruce Springsteen’s music is a standout moment. Springsteen’s lyrics are pasted all over the screen so boldly that Javed can not deny their relevance to his life. However, some moments just don’t land as well. The “Born to Run” sequence is just footage of all the character's lip-synching to the song and running through the town. Not exactly groundbreaking.
The screenplay of Blinded by the Light is messy. There are so many themes happening in this film: political upheaval, family drama, romance, dreams, and a Bruce Springsteen obsession. It doesn’t all flow in a cohesive way. One moment teens are dancing in the hallway to Bruce Springsteen’s music, and in the next scene, Javed’s father is emotionally abusive. The scenes just don’t flow together naturally, and it takes the viewer out of the movie. There’s never a proper tone set in the film.
Viveik Kalra plays Javed and carries the lead role in an engaging way. You’re on board with the character from the beginning of the film and want things to work out for him. You can feel his frustration with his life in Luton as he tries to break free to find a better life through his writing. Maybe Bruce Springsteen’s music can help him find his ticket out of town. I’d never seen Viviek Kalra in a film before, and this is an impressive breakout performance.
One person who helps Javed along the way is Ms Clay, his English teacher played by Haley Atwell. She encourages his writing when no one else does. She offers a hope for the future even when it seems Javed is being suffocated by his surroundings. Atwell does a great job in the role of a teacher motivating her students.
The characterization of Javed’s father, Malik (Kulvinder Ghir), is frustrating. The film does inform the audience of the family dynamic differences in Pakistani culture. Yet, he is a very one-note overly strict father without much characterization. He makes his wife slave over a sewing machine all day. His kids aren’t allowed to have any hobbies or interests except school and work. When his son expresses joy in writing, he reprimands him for it. This goes on for the entire movie. In the end, there’s a weak attempt to make him likable, but it all seems very shoehorned in so the film can have a feel good ending.
With films like Rocketman and Yesterday released earlier this summer, I can’t help but feel a bit let down by Blinded by the Light. It isn’t as strong of a musical film as the others are by a long shot and it doesn’t make use of Bruce Springsteen’s music as well as it could. Bruce Springsteen’s music may give meaning to the lives of the teenager’s in this film, but Blinded by the Light is just an okay coming of age film that struggles with tonal inconsistencies and characterization issues.
My Rating: 6/10
*All Images Belong to Warner Brothers