Ángel reviews The Help

The Help

I must admit I have never actually read the novel this movie was based on, for the reason that I don't read novels, with the added reason that I didn't know it was a novel. That said, I probably should have read it before I watched the movie, as I will explain later, this film does seem like it is a faithful adaptation of the book, and that in itself may be its only actual flaw.

The film basically follows three stories, those of Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) and Eugenia Phelan (Emma Stone) in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. Eugenia, called Skeeter by her friends, is an aspiring journalist who gets a job at a local newspaper giving advice on domestic matters like cooking and cleaning. She gets advice from Aibileen, a black maid who has spent her life raising white children, even as her own son died. Unhappy with the treatment of Black maids, since she herself was effectively raised by one (like many characters in the story) and determined to tell their side of the story, Skeeter attempts to get interviews from Aibileen and other maids. Meanwhile, Skeeter grows more and more alienated from her old friend circle, including Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) who is determined to help solve the 'Negro problem' by proposing a bill which would force seperate bathrooms for Black maids, since as her friends note, "They carry different diseases than us". Hilly fires her maid, Minny, and lies and says Minny had stolen from her, ensuring she can't get a job with anyone except Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), who has been outcast from Hilly and Skeeter's friend circle. Minny eventually agrees to tell her story to Skeeter, and after the death of Medgar Evers (this and other real life events place this film firmly in 1963), other maids agree as well.

The crowning moment of heartwarming (one of them) comes surprisingly early in the film, as the white child that Aibileen is looking after says: "Aiby, you're my real mommy". Viola Davis legitimately steals most every scene she is in, and Octavia Spencer plays her part perfectly. This in no way actually takes away from anyone, and Emma Stone does a wonderful job, as does Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard, whose character is so absurdly unlikable she continuously one-ups herself. Set wise, it absolutely sells Jackson 1963. I have never lived in Jackson, nor was I alive in 1963, but it looks exactly like I would imagine Jackson would have looked at that period in time. Written and Directed by Tate Taylor, it is marvelously done in both departments, and despite the very serious nature of the film, the writing and characters are well done enough to provide a very steady supply of humour. The only actual flaws in the film, are that being based on a book, and seemingly being very faithful, there is only so much that can be done in a 2 hours and 20 minutes. This means there are certain subplots, which I am fairly sure would be important in the book, which might as well not exist in the movie, whose mention made me go "Oh yeah, that happened." That is the only flaw I note in what is otherwise a film whose writing, acting and cinematography make it a very good film by any standard, and it is without a doubt the best film I have seen this year.

I give it 3.5 out of 4 stars.