The film, based on a novel by Kathryn Stockett, takes place in the world of Southern women. The white men may rule the world but not their own households so they are deliberately marginalized here.
The chauvinism they display toward their wives or girlfriends sets up a chain reaction where the white women take their own insecurities and inadequacies out on the black help. With a name like Skeeter, you can expect this year-old to be a rebel and troublemaker. Nothing accounts for her color-blindness other that she is right-minded —and a writer. For, naturally, a novelist would assume a fellow writer is above such pettiness as racism and class snobbery. We have not achieved true racial harmony or equality in , but the overt, ugly bigotry that permeated parts of society during the early s has been largely vanquished.
It still festers in the hearts and minds of some, often subtly, but it is now more a badge of shame than a code that must be followed for social acceptance. It is said that Upstairs, Downstairs is a uniquely British story - it could not be set in any other country during any other time period. Race and class, while not inseparable, are closely aligned and, although the movie like the book that inspired it has a considerably wider goal than simply contrasting the lives of those in service with those who pay their wages, that's part and parcel of what The Help does.
It illustrates a lifestyle that has all-but-vanished from the social landscape, swept away by the tide of the Civil Rights Movement. The Help is essentially a soap opera as is Upstairs, Downstairs , but one that features some impeccable acting and evidences a social conscience.
In the early '60s in Jackson, Mississippi, one might think slavery was still in effect. The white women of society hire black women to raise their children and care for their houses, ruling over them with imperious attitudes and paying meager wages.
Skeeter Phelen Emma Stone is a child of one such household. There's no graphic violence, but a character is obviously physically abused by her husband, and a woman has a miscarriage, leaving her in a pool of her blood.
Reflecting the '60s setting, almost everyone even a pregnant woman smokes cigarettes and drinks. Add your rating See all 49 parent reviews. Add your rating See all kid reviews. Skeeter Emma Stone is one of the few young women in her upper-crust circle to actually graduate from college. She returns home to Jackson, Miss. But first Skeeter must convince her friends' housekeepers -- starting with Aibileen Viola Davis -- to be interviewed for the project.
Hesitant at first, Aibileen eventually relents and nudges her best friend, the recently fired Minny Octavia Spencer , to tell the truth about raising and loving white children who grow up to be just as racist as their parents. All of the performances are remarkable in this drama. On the surface, The Help looks like yet another civil rights story told from the perspective of an open-minded white character who acts as the catalyst for change.
But director Tate Taylor is careful not to put an overwhelming spotlight on Skeeter at the expense of Aibileen who narrates the drama or Minny. Stone continues to solidify her stellar reputation with her understated performance as the ambitious but slightly misfit young writer.
But the real revelations are Davis, who's such a nuanced actress that she can elicit a storm of emotions with her soul-piercing stare, and relative newcomer Spencer, who's not only playing the opinionated Minny but is her inspiration she's a close friend of both the author and director.
Both actresses are deserving of an Academy Award nominations. There's not a flat note in the production, although special mention must be made of scene-stealers Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain. She's the Junior League set's queen bee and is so racist that she wants a bill passed forcing white homes to have a separate bathroom for their black servants.
Chastain, who wowed critics in The Tree of Life , lets loose as Minny's kind and charismatic employer, who's desperate for a friend. It sparks discussion, teaches a history lesson, and makes everyone think about how we treat others. And yes, don't forget the tissues. There will be weeping. Families can talk about how The Help depicts African Americans' struggle for racial equality.
How accurate do you think it is? How could you find out more about this part of history? Are the characters realistic? Do you consider any of them to be stereotypes? If so, why? Some have criticized Stockett's story for making a white character central to the civil rights movement.
How is the movie sensitive to this issue? What did you learn about the South under Jim Crow laws? For those who've read the book, how faithful is the movie adaptation? What changes did you like? What do you wish the director had included? Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate. Streaming options powered by JustWatch. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase.
DVD Yes. The Help The Help begins with an interesting irony, the idea that generations of Southerners were raised by African American servants while the servants had to leave behind their own children at home. ClearPlay In Action!
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