Blinded By The Light

“Another runner in the night, blinded by the light.” Bruce Springsteen has always spoken for those seeking the American Dream but Gurinder Chadha’s new film, based on the memoir of Bruce superfan Sarfraz Manzoor, translates Springsteen’s voice of the everyman to small town Luton in the 1980’s.

Blinded By The Light is the coming of age tale of Javed (Mansoor’s on screen representation), stuck in a town he hates and a town, with a large National Front presence, that hates him back. He is of Pakistani descent and under his Dad’s strict rules at home which stops him from working towards his ultimate dream of becoming a writer, a dream that is fuelled even further when schoolfriend Roops passes him two Bruce Springsteen tapes one lunchbreak.

What ensues is an epiphany, a rebellion, a love story and the ultimate conclusion of dreams and family intertwined. Feelgood? Sure. Predictable? Sure again but told with so much heart and soul that it might just inspire you to make changes in your own life.

Chadha doesn’t shirk away from the wider issues. The music is an escape for Javed but not something that completely removes him from his reality. Having said this it’s not a preachy film, everything grows organically. Javed listens to Springsteen’s music and learns the messages buried within, not just wallowing in the surface relatability.

There are music segments which set the film apart from the usual coming-of-age tale, whether lyrics that appear on screen to mimic Javed’s thoughts, or full blown musical moments set to Thunder Road and Born To Run. These scenes are not as sharp or well put together as, say, a Baby Driver or a Sing Street but they manage to retain a certain charm without veering too far into kitsch territory. They suit the mood and, of course, are helped when the music itself is this good even if it’s slightly cringey when the cast kinda mumble over the top of it.

Javed himself is played by newcomer Viveik Kalra who is fantastic in the role, we root for him the whole way through. He’s ably supported by a brilliant supporting cast but particular praise must be reserved for Kulvinder Ghir as Javed’s father. This is a role that requires him to be harsh yet also sympathetic, he’s a man struggling as much as Javed is and Ghir tows this line superbly.

We long for Javed to succeed but, above all, long for his family to connect and the film veers through this journey in a perfect way, feeling earned. Definitely bring your tissues for the closing scenes.

A crowd pleasing and universal yet highly specific small town tale that holds and delivers a deep moral lesson? Sounds a lot like The Boss himself. A Human Touch gives Blinded By The Light true movie Magic.

5 stars *****