Blinded by the Light

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

Blinded by the Light follows hopeful Pakistani teenager Javed (Viveik Kalra) through his coming-of-age in tempestuous 1987 London. Javed, dreaming of a life beyond the haggard America – scratch that – British, dream is introduced to the musical stylings of Bruce Springsteen by a friend at university. The growling musician’s lyrics and harmonies inject new blood into the teen’s system and as his fixation grows so do the monuments, and conflicts, in his life. Blinded by the Light is cheery, a little cheesy, and the perfect ode to the power of music.

Blinded by the Light is driven by director and co-writer Gurinder Chadha’s vision and contends with one of Chadha’s other greatest work, the revered Bend It Like Beckham. Gurinder’s knack for contemporary, poignant visual storytelling happily marries screenwriter and journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s ability to explore societal tensions along with private strife.

Manzoor shines as a writer too, as he should, considering the life and story of Javed are heavily inspired by his own foray into adulthood and the discography of “The Boss.” Manzoor and Chadha are joined by fellow screenwriter Paul Mayeda Berges to pull the narrative together. The story itself in compelling, but the sparkle of it all is truly thanks to its cast. Full of unfamiliar faces, sans Hayley Atwell, the entire ensemble shines brilliantly throughout its one hour and fifty-eight-minute run. Charming, emotional, endearing and earnest (even at their worst) the acting facilitates the magical cultivation of empathy for almost every character – from Javed to his father (Kulvinder Ghir) to moody Matt (Dean-Charles Chapman), which at times, is no easy feat.

Javed, pre-Bruce initiation, is a bit of wallflower. Often overshadowed by his ladykilling musician best mate Matt, Javed has trouble making his voice heard. He writes but gives his words to Matt to sing in his band. He speaks up at home, but is silenced whenever his father has an opposing opinion (which is often). At school and on the streets, he is seen only for his Pakistani origins, as xenophobes and racist spray paint violent messaging on the London streets and follow him home in deliberate attempts at intimidation. Despite living in a decent suburb, Javed is walking in the dark. Of course, things start to change when he takes one minute step towards doing something for himself. Enrolling in a writing class at University, Javed meets three people who change his life forever – Ms. Clay (Atwell), the writing tutor who believes in Javed’s talent, and Roops (Aaron Phagura), a fellow-student who is not afraid to wear denim on denim, and an impassioned lover of Javed’s third new friend Bruce Springsteen.

After a particularly heated battle with his father, Javed loses all inspiration to write – to break free from the institution in which his family has placed him – that he balls up pages upon pages of his writing and throws them into the night. The soundtrack to his act of resistance is the swirling, haunting, enthralling melody of Springsteen’s hit song “Dancing in the Dark.” This cements Javed’s love of the musician and soon we begin to see the changes manifest. Javed redecorates his room with The Boss merchandise, converses in lyrics, changes his wardrobe to denim and plaid until (finally) he lets the music and struggles of a small-town American boy embolden him. Javed begins to live his life more authentically; he garners the courage to ask out his classmate Eliza (Nell Williams), he shares his writing with Ms. Clay, he defies his father, momentarily forgets about his old pal Matt and finds that maybe, just maybe, he was born to run.

Blinded by the Light isn’t just a personal story of growth, change, resistance or forgiveness. Much like the music of The Boss himself, the narrative of the film speaks to both Javed’s life and the environment in which he was born. It transcends the self and blankets the collective. Javed struggles to reconcile his dreams of being a writer with the dreams of his father while simultaneously finding that society too, through hatred and racism, is stacked against him. The harrowing moments where tensions come to a head, at home and in the world, intersect perfectly to add layers of emotional complexity to the film – dampening the moments where it dares to be just a tad too saccharine. Blinded by the Light is a delightfully successful tale about growing up, getting out and music’s ability to span beyond time and, in this case, continents. Javed’s transformation from mumbling poet to writer is a joy to watch – just a boy, becoming as man as he dances through the dark.