The Help
Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia L. Spencer, Jessica Chastain
Director: Tate Taylor
Rating: 4/5
The Help has already taken the American box office by storm and charged the critics along the way - and all the hype surrounding the film is totally justified.
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960's decides to write a book detailing the African American Maid's point of view on the White families they work for, and their hardships they go through on a day to day basis.
Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly - and unwillingly - caught up in the changing times.
Any movie that has you welling up in the cinema on more than one occasion really has hit the mark and that is exactly what The Help has done.
This is a faithful adaptation of the popular novel that blends humour with emotion and heartbreak so effortlessly that you cannot help but get swept away in the story and the struggle.
It's not very often that a female ensemble cast it put together for a movie but this one really does work a treat.
The performances are simply superb - but it is that of Viola Davis that really does stand out.
It's a tour de force performance by Davis as she can not longer bear the way that she and her fellow maids are treated so, despite her fear of the repercussions, she stands up for what she believes in and does what she feels is right.
There is also a great performance from Octavia L. Spencer as Minnie as she provides many of the laughs in the movie with her no nonsense attitude.
Bryce Dallas Howard is also superb as is Jessica Chastain who, despite being a white woman, also finds herself excluded.
The Help is just a fascinating watch and the movie has been crafted so well - you can't help but feel for these women and you want them to fight back.
But this movie delivers a great message, without every being preachy, that the truth, no matter how difficult it is to tell or that repercussions it may bring, has the power to set you free.
Yes at 146 minutes you could argue that this movie is a tad long but I was so caught up in the characters and the emotion of the movie, I nearly blubbed like a baby on several occasions, that I barely noticed.
This is a great story of those who are excluded from society fighting back and it make want to shout 'you go girl' from your seat!!'
It's inspirational and it's powerful, it's emotional, it's full of humour and it is a real tribute to the people of that time and the things that they suffered.
But most of all The Help is an actors movie and Davis' performance in particular should be remembered when the awards season rolls around.
The Help is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Emma Stone