Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Lee Daniel's "The Butler" serves up quite a story

Forest Whitaker stars as Cecil Gaines, a butler in the White House spanning 8 presidential administrations.  Oprah Winfrey plays his beautiful but often troubled wife.   This is a powerful and poignant story of dignity,integrity, and the changing face of America.  Beginning in rural Georgia, Gaines (Whitaker) is orpnaned through no fault of his own and becomes a house servant (politcally correct term ,not the one used in the movie) at a young age. This skill takes him all the way to the White House. Though this is a presitgious opportunity it comes with its downfalls and troubles.  From Eisenhower to Reagan, things that were seen and heard were painful, powerful, and paradoxical.

I laughed and cried with the movie, its plots and sub plots.  It tells 2 stories at the same time.  It poetically draws a piture of the changing life, names of the Colored/Negro/ Black /African American during these times. There are awesome small parts playes by, Mariah Carey, David Banner, Ya-Ya  (of America's Top Model Fame) Liev Schreiber and the incomaprable Jane Fonda.

WARNINGS
Some Cursing
Minimal Sexual Content
Racist Language

 

No comments:

Post a Comment