From The New York Times best-selling novel, comes the film “The Help,” a wonderful tale that shows just how important it is to hear every side of a story.
“The Help” stars a wonderful cast of characters that includes Emma Stone (“Easy A”), Viola Davis (“Doubt”), Octavia Spencer (“Halloween II”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“The Village”), Jessica Chastain (“The Tree of Life”) and a hilarious appearance by Sissy Spacek (“Carrie”).
Stone plays a vivacious, honest girl with a knack for writing and determination to be a journalist/novelist in the 1960s, during the Civil Rights movement in Jackson, Mississippi. After being raised in a home that had an African-American maid and seeing what she went through on a daily basis, from cleaning to cooking to raising the children, she wanted to write a book that included African-American maids’ perspective and stories.
Skeeter’s (Stone) bridge club friends treat their maids atrociously, so she decides these maids are the first ones she wants to interview. Aibileen (Davis) and Minny (Spencer) began to be interviewed with Skeeter, but they must do so in private. And after a while, more and more maids step up to the plate to share their stories because in the end they know it is for a good cause. But racist and rude Hilly (Howard) is determined to see that Minny, her ex-maid, and Skeeter will never be taken seriously in the little town of Jackson.
The cast was charmingly delightful as each person suited their role well. The film itself stayed true to the time period, the sets were especially detailed. Stone was able to make anyone both laugh and cry at the drop of a hat and Howard invoked emotions of rage and disappointment flawlessly. The cast fit together like a well-oiled machine, and each doing their part to portray a time of hardship and trouble.
The film was directed and written by director and actor Tate Taylor, who starred in Academy-Award nominated “Winter’s Bone.” Taylor was able to create a tale about producing change and hope when it seems most difficult. “Change begins with a whisper,” is “The Help”‘s tag line, and nothing else could explain this story more profoundly.
Both light-hearted and tear-jerking, “The Help” was a wonderful portrayal of what life was like for the over- and under-privileged of the 1960s. After seeing the movie there is not a doubt that the novel, written by Kathryn Stockett, is just as great, if not better. It is a story for either a book worm or a movie buff, so if it sounds like your taste, order it on Netflix or grab it at a local bookstore.
