To be honest, I didn’t expect to like
this movie. The previews made it all
look too pat and schematic, too comfortable in its moral superiority and too
willing to push its sad historical particulars in the service of an easy
‘inspirational’ agenda. You know, Hallmark Channel stuff. And of course, one more
example (among so, so many…) of
After seeing The Help, I was not entirely convinced my initial concerns weren’t
justified. I think the critiques above
can in fact be fairly leveled at the movie, to some degree. It is indeed all pretty pat and easy.
But…I also have to admit how much I
actually enjoyed watching it. The credit
there goes simply to the actors: the
formidable Viola Davis (Abileen), who seems incapable of delivering a false
word or gesture onscreen; Octavia Spencer (Minny), beneath whose lively humor
runs a deep current of sad pragmatism; Allison Janney (Skeeter’s mom), a proven
expert at playing all kinds of mothers, but especially sickly ones with lots of
regrets but good intentions; and Jessica Chastain (Celia Foote), whose utterly
charming, wide-open performance as an eager-to-please, somewhat ditzy young
wife might look like an easy throwaway, until you look at the variety of other
roles she played this year (in Tree of
Life, Take Shelter, Coriolanus, and others) and realize just
how remarkably versatile she is proving herself to be. These performances are the reason to see the
film. Happily, three of the four were
recognized with Oscar nominations—deservedly so.
© 2012 dondi demarco