Dir. Tate Taylor, US, 2011, 146 mins
Cast: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sissy Spacek, Octavia Spencer
Review by Carlie Newman
Although some have criticised this because it is told from a white person’s viewpoint, it remains an enjoyable film which should appeal to a variety of different audiences. B ased on the best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, the film is set in 1960s Jackson , Mississippi . Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan (Emma Stone), returns home having just graduated. When she is commissioned to write cleaning tips for a local newspaper, she seeks help from Aibileen (Viola Davis), her best friend’s maid. She is shocked to find out how the maids and other African-American “help” are treated and decides to write a book detailing the experiences of her married friends’ maids.
All the white women have been raised by black maids. Often the maids have had to leave their own children for many hours a day to be brought up by relatives, while they work long hours for their white employers. Skeeter learns how badly some of the maids are treated and in the process falls out with many of her former friends.
Initially many of the maids are too scared to talk. When Minny (Octavia Spencer), one of the maids and a really good cook, is found using her employers’ bathroom, she is abruptly fired by Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard). Minny is forced to leave the area to work for Celia (Jessica Chastain), a lonely white woman who has been treated as an outcast by the snobbish other women. Upset at her treatment, Minny opens up to Skeeter, who finds herself ostracised when her friends discover that she is the editor of the maids’ stories. The black women come together and realise that if they act as one and all allow their stories to be told, they can bring about change.
Although a long film, The Help is so engrossing and well-written that one doesn’t notice the time at all. It is directed with sensitivity by Taylor, who gives each of the main actresses her moment to shine. The acting is excellent and we explore their various characters in all their ghastliness ― in the shape of Hilly ― or modesty with Aibileen and the very virtuous Minny. There is also a good cameo by Spacek as Hilly’s mother. There are some amusing moments and the film is, above all, a very moving story of a group of women who played a major role in bringing up a nation’s children.
xx - posted on 23/05/2012 13:13:28
