2 hours, 17 minutes
PG-13 Parents Strongly Cautioned.
for thematic material
CAST:
Emma Stone ...
Eugenia Phelan
Viola Davis ...
Aibileen Clark
Bryce Dallas Howard ...
Hilly Holbrook
Octavia Spencer ...
Minny Jackson
Jessica Chastain ...
Celia Foote
Ahna O'Reilly ...
Elizabeth Leefolt
Allison Janney ...
Charlotte Phelan
Cicely Tyson ...
Constantine Jefferson
Mike Vogel ...
Johnny Foote
Sissy Spacek ...
Missus Walters
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The movie based on the best selling book by Kathryn Stockett focuses on a black housekeeper named Aibileen Clark (Viola
Davis) in 1960s Mississippi. Treated as a
second-class citizen and just trying to make it through the day,
Aibileen’s life manages to get even worse when her employers friend,
Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard), informs
Aibileen that she intends to build a bathroom outside of the house for the help to use. Outraged, Aibileen begins to tell her stories to a young journalist
(Emma Stone).
Director Tate Taylor
("Pretty Ugly People") who also adapted the script successfully lets the film be moving despite its many comic moments, highlighted by a number of brilliant
performances from its incredible cast. Bryce Dallas Howard playing the film’s central
antagonist, is so great that you will probably feel the urge to jump onto the
screen and punch her in the face. Octavia Spencer, who plays
Aibileen’s best friend, a fellow housekeeper, plays the dramatic and
comedic elements of her character perfectly and has an outstanding
dynamic with Jessica Chastain, who plays her bubbly, airheaded employer.
Sissy Spacek is another stand-out as Hilly’s senile mother, but it's Viola Davis that you'll never forget.
While the pacing is superb – an impressive feat for a
movie that runs for well over two hours, but, in addition to never allowing the plot feel
overbearing, it manages to present some amazing contrasts. One moment
you’re laughing at a child going to the bathroom in an unplugged toilet
sitting on someone’s lawn and the next you’re watching the child’s
mother spank it for misbehaving.
While some men may look at this female-driven
story and think that there’s nothing here for them, but they are absolutely
wrong. The Help is a movie made for all audiences and it's one you won't want to miss.
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