2/4
For a film about so much struggle, The Help flows too smoothly and much of it feels like it has been done before. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Kathryn Stockett and set in Jackson, Mississippi at the height of the civil rights movement during the early 1960s. Director/writer Tate Taylor handles his subject without giving us anything new; just another dramatized, inconsistency characterized Hollywood civil rights vehicle. Like countless other Hollywood pieces dealing with sensitive racial subjects, this film is full of forced emotion.
Quickly rising star Emma Stone plays Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a young woman who returns to her hometown after finishing college. She aspires to be a writer and after witnessing the racial prejudice all around her, she decides to write a book through the viewpoint of black woman raising white families for work ("The Help"). Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are magnificent as Aibleen Clark and Minny Jackson. Their performances as the most honest and genuine things within this film that I found to feel oddly, but not surprisingly, artificial. Emma Stone's performance as "Skeeter" is satisfying, but lacking any extra spark. Bryce Dallas Howard plays the cliched archetype of a racism woman; she plays it well, but her character lacks any fresh substance. I did find Jessica Chastain's performance to be surprisingly touching. She plays Cecelia Foote, a ditzy woman who is ostracized from the community which enables her to form a bond with Minny, their naturally affectionate chemistry being a real highlight.
This year's finest piece of Oscar bait - that isn't a good thing in my eyes. The Help has a lot of time to work with - an excessive running time of 146 minutes - only to drag on-and-on for 20 minutes after the plots real resolution. The moments that I know will stick with me are the scenes where Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer's characters come to life and really leave give us the tragic outlook of a time in history that deserved to be represented better than what this film was able to. Their performances the two things in this film that will really touch your heart, the rest is force-fed, stereotyped emotion.
Quickly rising star Emma Stone plays Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a young woman who returns to her hometown after finishing college. She aspires to be a writer and after witnessing the racial prejudice all around her, she decides to write a book through the viewpoint of black woman raising white families for work ("The Help"). Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are magnificent as Aibleen Clark and Minny Jackson. Their performances as the most honest and genuine things within this film that I found to feel oddly, but not surprisingly, artificial. Emma Stone's performance as "Skeeter" is satisfying, but lacking any extra spark. Bryce Dallas Howard plays the cliched archetype of a racism woman; she plays it well, but her character lacks any fresh substance. I did find Jessica Chastain's performance to be surprisingly touching. She plays Cecelia Foote, a ditzy woman who is ostracized from the community which enables her to form a bond with Minny, their naturally affectionate chemistry being a real highlight.
This year's finest piece of Oscar bait - that isn't a good thing in my eyes. The Help has a lot of time to work with - an excessive running time of 146 minutes - only to drag on-and-on for 20 minutes after the plots real resolution. The moments that I know will stick with me are the scenes where Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer's characters come to life and really leave give us the tragic outlook of a time in history that deserved to be represented better than what this film was able to. Their performances the two things in this film that will really touch your heart, the rest is force-fed, stereotyped emotion.
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