Roger Ebert described "The Help" perfectly when he called it “a safe film about a volatile subject,” before adding that it was a “story that deals with pain but doesn't care to be that painful.” Set in the American South during the 60s, the film (based on the best-selling book), tells the story of African-American maids and their complex relationships with their white employers. It is a movie that points to the pain of racism, poverty and inequality and how that effects people’s lives, but does so in a feel-good sort of way. That is not to say it makes light of these serious subjects, but rather that it not only confronts white guilt, but also looks to mitigate it.
Still, the ‘The Help’ remains an engrossing movie of substance, even though it suffers from glaring imperfections. Most of the characters are caricatures, even some of the main ones. The two domestic helpers at the centre of the story are Aibileen (Viola Davis), who is big, warm and grandmotherly and Minny (Octavia Spencer), who is sassy with a tongue so sharp she could cut through steel. Tell me you haven’t seen them somewhere before. The other main character is Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone), a recent college graduate who returns home and finds she doesn’t fit in anymore. Skeeter convinces the two maids to help her tell their story through a book, which will expose the subtle (and not so subtle) racism that exists behind the walls of the neat, suburban homes. While not a caricature, Skeeter’s character in reality has very little to do. She actually feels little more than a device used to move the story along in a certain direction.
The main characters are not the worst caricatures, with some of the story’s ‘villains’ looking nothing more than cardboard cutouts of people we all knew back in the 60s (or if you live in South Africa, back in the 80s). However, Davis and Spencer are simply superb in their roles, rescuing the movie from silliness while delivering the undoubted emotional affect their story deserves. One of the employers is Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), who is also excellent in her role as a dizzy, unaffected housewife harbouring profound inner turmoil.
It sounds like I did not enjoy ‘The Help’, but I really did. I just could not help but feel that in the hands of a different director, this movie could have been so much more. A more courageous screenplay and directing would have made a world of difference. The point of the book (and by virtue the movie) was to give a voice to those thousands upon thousands of women who worked hard cooking, cleaning, and raising the children of their white employers but were never recognised and appreciated. The same could be said of South Africa, multiplied by a million or so.
Truthfully, we are drawn into the lives of Aibileen and Minny - their pain and hurt becomes ours - and it is in this respect ‘The Help’ is successful. The sombre subplot involving the mysterious disappearance of Skeeter's beloved nanny, who worked for the family for 29 years, is used as a redemptive device that affirms it is never too late to open our hearts and lives to those we once mistakenly considered inferior.
Three and a half stars out of five. ‘The Help’ could have been so much more, but nonetheless, is an infinitely better evening out at the movies than standard Hollywood fare.