The jury is still out on whether audiences will take to Lee Daniels’ The Butler. I suspect they might find in this film one of the more satisfying two hours at the movies in a good, long time. The critics seem somewhat divided, with many offering up conditional raves. But it’s charmed two notoriously tough to please outlets so far. Slant magazine, not known for their effusive praise, has praised Lee Daniels’ The Butler:
It’s hard to think of a recent film that’s at once so familiar and welcoming in its overarching story of hard-won triumph and yet so radical and nuanced in form. At one point, a bus of Freedom Riders, Louis among them, is stopped and overtaken by the Ku Klux Klan, a member of which tosses a Molotov cocktail into the vehicle. Another director would have stayed outside with the bigots and let our blood build to a boil, but Daniels keeps us in the rushing terror, boxed in by barking German Shepherds and white supremacists. There are similar sequences involving Louis, including a glimpse at the prep for the sit-in, where the director clearly bears his teeth, but it’s never at the expense of belittling Cecil’s way of life or cheapening his contribution to civil rights. Daniels continuously reminds us that the black men and women who worked within the racist system were pushing toward equality as much as those who (more than justifiably) didn’t, in a more covert manner. The film’s defining moment is when Louis, discussing plans with other activists, vocally disrespects his father’s profession and a wiser colleague reminds him that Cecil is really a subversive.
Daniels indeed produces a strange and antic melodrama out of Cecil’s life, his story beginning brutally with the (unseen) rape of his mother (Mariah Carey) and his father’s murder by their employer, Westfall (Alex Pettyfer). It’s Westfall’s grandmother (Vanessa Redgrave) who teaches Cecil how to set tables, serve, and take care of her home, but it’s the kindness of a shop-keep, Maynard (Clarence Williams III), that sets the course for his life. Ultimately, Cecil’s private life is mainly defined by his bumpy relationship with his boozing, Faye Adams-loving wife, Gloria, played by a phenomenal Oprah Winfrey. She brings the ache of age and the pain of a compromised life out of her character with as little as a disinterested glare toward her man on the side (Terrence Howard). When Gloria is entertaining, however, Winfrey brings out her own manic social energy, and she’s electrifying. And while at work, Cecil is surrounded not only by world leaders, but also by an array of co-workers and close friends, brought to varied, vivid life by Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, and Colman Domingo, and the busy atmosphere and whirl of work talk is reminiscent of a Robert Altman film.
And the Village Voice’s Stephanie Zacharek:
In Precious, the characters were walking symbols for the worst horrors of inner-city life. The Butler puts its characters first. Daniels re-creates some of the most potent and horrific images of the civil rights era, including those of young black protesters being blasted with firehoses. But his approach is, for the most part, more personal than instructional. You can see where everyone is coming from in The Butler, why some characters are afraid to ask for more while others dare to demand it. When Cecil says, in voiceover, “Any white man can kill any of us at any time and not be punished for it,” it’s impossible not to think of Florida today.
There’s something else going on here too. There are more terrific black actors in Hollywood than there are good roles they might actually land. The Butler creates an open, freeing space for lots of these performers. Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, Yaya Alafia: Everybody is good. Whitaker is one of those observant, understated performers who says everything between the lines. His Cecil has spent a lifetime being deferential to white people, but as one character cannily points out, subservience can be quietly subversive.
Winfrey might be the finest of all. You’d think she might turn Gloria into a snoozy role model. Gloria is flawed (she drinks), but Winfrey knows when to go for laughs too — she takes the role seriously without making it self-serious. One night, after she and Cecil have been arguing, Gloria rouses herself from bed — she’s just a bit sozzled — and goes over to her vanity mirror, where she applies a coat of lipstick as meticulously as only a truly angry woman can. She taunts her husband: “I bet you wish I spoke French, just like Jack-ay.” There’s bitterness in that moment, but Winfrey also makes it funny. This is the opposite of great-lady acting — it’s something much better, more vibrant and alive, and whatever The Butler‘s flaws may be, Winfrey’s off-the-cuff fortitude is emblematic of its spirit. Daniels has made a proper movie, with all the conventionality that implies, yet it’s progressive in its heart. Sometimes the best way to fight the power is to bend it to your will.
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LEE DANIEL’S THE BUTLER makes it 3 for 3 for Lee Daniels. Come for the laughs -there are plenty- and stay for Oprah’s revelation! ★★★
p.s. Should she go
Lead = Nomination Locked
Supporting = FrontRunner
I just read that Oprah is 60 yo…..What??? She’s supposed to play a young woman aging through the decades. It’s hard for me to imagine an “older” woman playing decades of ages….usually it’s the other way around….younger woman who ages.
I’m headed to see the movie this weekend, but something really bothers me about Oprah’s character. And I guess one have to suspend disbelief. If her character actually died about 2008 and this movie covers 5 decades back to 1950 — how the heck does Oprah, who is 60, age from about 20 years old to 70 years old?
This. I have to see with my own eyes.
Maybe it’s just me, but the cinematography in this just looks appalling. I don’t know what it is.
lol because it kind of is appalling, but at least it doesn’t pretend to pass as respectable photography unlike Delbonnel’s glossy calamity in DARK SHADOWS.
Aren’t most reviews saying LDTB is effective despite being overly sentimental and occasionally heavy handed? That is enough for me to stay away. I long for the day that this site stops promoting Oprah.
Most of the reviews are saying this is a very effectng drama despite so plot holes and it has outstanding acting from the cast. Forest and Oprah are getting raves and everybody is starting to promote oprah not just this site. Deal with it. The Butler is looking like a big crowd Pleaser.
I said when the first triler came out that this m is would get good reviews. Everybody wanted to trash. Well my friends karma has arrived. Can not wait to see this on Friday. Sasha you was right on this one.
I am man enough to admit that I was way wrong about this movie. I thought it was going to be another Bobby and get bad reviews but now it is pretty much certified fresh on RT and from what I here it will be a pretty big crowd pleaser. Great for the cast. I think we have a sag winner.
Well, funny enough, Bobby did get that SAG nom for ensemble, didn’t it?;)
Still only 67 on MC, mind you. And no individual rating higher than 88, so I think the Oscar prospects of The Butler still hinges on how it performs at the BO.
IF it turns into a “The Help” kind of phenomenon, then I’m sure you are right: it will be an Oscar player. But let’s wait and see…I think it’s 50/50 at this point.
67 with 11 reviews and has been going up. Two days ago it was at 61. At this rate it will end in the low 70s. Better than the help, Blid side and Les Mis. Based of the reports from the amps screening they loved the movie and seeing who is behind this film getting it into the best pic line will not be to hard. So far things are looking good for The Butler. This is a classic case of never judge a movie by a 2 min trailer.
Encouraging, but will it win an Oscar? Doubt it.
It was never expected to will Oscar but at this rate it will get some nods and become a critical and Boxoffice hit. Something 90% of the people on this site thought would not happen. So curtis is right. This is a big Win for The Butler.
27 reviews and stil at 85 or RT. It has an 83 on BFCA and is going up on MC. There will be a lot crow being served this Friday. A lot of you was dead wrong about this movie.
Let’s hope so (crow, et al). Said all along that I hoped my intuition was wrong. Much prefer this result over having an admired director produce a turkey. That hurts – this won’t.
I was very skeptical of the film before the positive reviews began to came out, and since I trust Stephanie Zacharek as far as her written film criticism goes (I believe she’s more in tune with the desires of everyday moviegoers, and from reading her writing over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that she dissects and criticizes the fundamental components of a film while also recognizing it’s her duty to recommend the best films available to common moviegoers (aka she placates to normal humans and not critics/bloggers; her review of “The Artist” is a favorite of mine).
Will see this first and foremost for the acting.
Don’t know because I haven’t seen it, but Oprah is a better actress than most. I just don’t know what the role has her doing, but I’m willing to believe she’ll be on the short list.
(I didn’t read most of that in fear of spoilers.)
If this makes enough dough, I see it making it all the way to a best picture nod. Even if it’s only a modest success, nods for Whitaker and Winfrey also seem solid at this point. Oh, and there’s no way I see this missing out on the SAG ensemble nod (and with this cast, probably win.) Remember, they even nominated Emilio Estevez’s BOBBY, which… yikes.
Marion Cotillard for The Immigrant Best Actress category
The French wouldn’t say Jack-ay but Jack-eee!
Stephanie Zacharek is probably just being contrarian. But I’m very encouraged by what I read here.