Movie Review: The Help

This film takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962, a time period where civil rights for African Americans was becoming an increasingly incendiary issue and African Americans were getting closer to achieving something significant.

If there's one thing I've learned about African Americans' struggle for civil rights, it's that there was nothing greater than the power of a beautiful, intelligent, slightly anorexic white woman. That white woman is named Skeeter and she's played by Emma Stone.

That a white woman would stand up for the rights of black women is a tribute to the beauty of equality and the heart within all of us. Remember, a heart is neither black nor white. It's red and full of veins and kind of gross on its own. So if you yank a heart out of a human, no matter whether she is white or black, it's generally kind of disgusting. And I've learned from watching "The Walking Dead", it might attract zombies.

The events of this movie kind of begin with a bridge game hosted by Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O'Reilly). Elizabeth's two best friends are Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Stone) and Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard). During the game, Hilly announces that she's working on passing a law that would require everyone to build outside bathrooms for the help. Of course, the help are black and the "everyone" are white. Skeeter doesn't agree with this and it begins a conflict between the two women that lasts the whole movie.

Listening in on this conversation is Elizabeth's maid, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis). Aibileen is not only the maid, but a real mother to Elizabeth's two-year-old daughter. Elizabeth is physically and emotionally abusive toward her daughter and its Aibileen who, having lost her own son, is the real parent.

So the movie is partly about racism and partly about the friendship that develops between Skeeter, Aibileen, and another maid, Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer). Minny takes care of Hilly's mother. Hilly has been calling Minny a thief, which has prevented Minny from getting a new job since Hilly's mother is going to a nursing home.

There's so much more to this rich, character-driven film, and so many more characters I'm not even mentioning. Ultimately, it's about telling the truth and being brave and bonding with your girlfriends no matter what their skin color might be.

I guess if I had any complaints about the movie, it's that there weren't women from all races and religions represented so that the bonding could have been among women of the world because yes, black and white women can love one another, but so can Asian and Persian and Hispanic and there are probably some others too. Oh yeah, fat women and short women and tall women too. I also thought Hilly was mean.

I also love that "The Help" is the name of the movie and it's also the name of the book the movie is based on and it's also the name of the book in the movie that Skeeter writes that tells everyone things from the maids' perspective. And then, the title is "The Help" and Skeeter is helping the help and the help are helping skeeter too. And "Help" is also the name of The Beatles movie and album. It's like some weird amusement park fun house attraction where you're standing between mirrors and you see yourself going on into infinity. Who knew civil rights could be so much fun?

Like I said, there's so much more to this film in terms of characters. Skeeter gets a proposal from a Senator's son, Stuart Whitworth (Chris Lowell), but when Stuart finds out that Skeeter has written the book about the maids, he withdraws his proposal. I felt so badly for Skeeter and was impressed by her sacrifice. While the maids risked their jobs and probably their very lives to tell the truth, Skeeter sacrificed a boyfriend, so who says white women didn't know hardship in the 1960's. Skeeter did!

The performances are all outstanding. Emma Stone is a wonder as Skeeter. After displaying acting chops but not necessarily acting depth in "Easy A" and "Friends with Benefits", Stone really gives a nuanced and heartfelt performance as Skeeter. Stone bares her soul and her naked emotions elevate her performance. Viola Davis and Octavia Butler, who play characters who are so often superficial and one-dimensional, give not one, but two, three, and even four dimensions to their characters. We see these maids as real people. And it's no small feat to be such a good actor that you can give a character a fourth dimension.

"The Help" helped me learn about the depths of the human heart and the importance of standing up for what we believe in. So when I have a challenge in front of me in the future, I'm going to ask myself: WWSD? What would Skeeter do?