There’s solid entertainment in “The Help,” an absorbing and enlightening screen adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 controversial, exposé novel, a NY Times best seller. In Jackson, Mississippi of the sixties’ era of racial intolerance prior to the Civil Rights Movement and before the liberated woman, bigotry is depicted without exploitation. Familiar in theme, yet well executed with a fresher take, the storyline follows homegrown Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone), a wannabe author raised as a child by housemaid Constantine Jefferson (Cicely Tyson). She seeks personal stories of the black maids tending to the local white families, and Constantine is Skeeter’s motivation to pursue the venture. It was taboo for blacks to speak out, and covertly, in individual furtive meetings, she interviews housemaids Aibileen Clark (an outstanding Viola Davis), and Minny Jackson (marvelously played by Octavia Spencer). Socialite Hilly Holbrook (vibrant Bryce Dallas Howard), an abominable racist who knows no better than how she’s been raised and her off limits bathroom is just one of numerous atrocities.
Director-screenwriter Tate Taylor’s well-made superlative “…Help” is a scenario of relationships, friendship, and life in the prejudiced south where discrimination reigned. An exemplary ensemble cast of African-American and Caucasian actors are impressive; some in supporting roles include Sissy Spacek, Allison Janney, and Jessica Chastain. “The Help” is a movie that’s definitely “one for the books.”
Image Source: Collider
