Dreamworks SKG, Reliance Entertainment, Participant Media
Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O’Reilly, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek
Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) is an aspiring writer in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963 in the middle of the civil rights movement. She is writing a column giving household hints, but she has an idea of writing a book based upon the recollections and stories of her maid, looking at the life of a black woman working for a white family. As time goes by, more and more of the maids risk their very lives by talking to her and telling their thoughts and feelings, and the extreme hardships they had to go through every day. The times were changing around them, yet they became caught up in the change, as the book showing the dark side of life in the south became a bit hit.
Based on a real book, this is a very touching film. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything from the opposite viewpoint, of what it was like to be on the other side of the fence. These ladies raised white children while their own were being kept by someone else. They could have been filled with hatred and despised their “employers” but due to deep religious beliefs taught the children as best they could and tried to teach the children values in spite of their parents. Then the children would grow up and become just like their parents. It must have been difficult to watch. It’s good to realize that not all people carried the racist views from the hurt of the Civil War through generation after generation. There are good and bad people of all classes and colors and races. But it is a shame that these people had to live through the kind of treatment they were often exposed to. I really enjoyed this film. It was thoughtfully filmed and very touching. It has a great story and is well worth watching. There is a good reason it did very well in the theaters because it is a stunning film. It’s definitely worth renting if you haven’t had the opportunity to see it yet. Emma Stone was wonderful in her role, as were all the other characters. Sissy Spacek was a really good addition to the film, even though she had a really unusual role. All in all, this is a really good film. It’s a little long at 146 minutes, but it flies by and this is a film that ought to be on everybody’s watch list. If you haven’t caught it, you should.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
