The movie THE HELP is about a woman named Skeeter Phelan who is an aspiring journalist. She gets a job at the Jackson Journal answering questions about household cleaning. To help her with her column, she enlists the help of a maid, Aibileen, who works for her friend.
Skeeter’s hope to become a journalist leads her to contact a publishing company in New York. She did not get hired by them immediately. However, she was told to keep writing and contact them once she gained more work experience. She spoke to one of the publishing company representatives who tells her something like “write about something that’s important to you”. Skeeter then decides to interview the maids who raised white children. She had been raised by a black maid named Constantine, who mysteriously moved away while she was in college. The story ensues as Skeeter takes us on her journey through the interviews and the book publication.
I liked the movie as a coming-of-age story for Ms. Skeeter. It was NOT an historical account of the lives of black maids or women in the south, nor do I think it was intended as such. The controversy about the depiction of the African American labor has already begun. People say that the picture painted of the African American maids doesn’t accurately reflect the severe hardship that they endured. I agree that the movie doesn’t show the maids experiencing a huge amount of brutality and exploitation. Yet, this movie was based on a book by Kathryn Stockett who was raised by a black woman. The best she can do is share based on her experiences and those of her friends. As children, white people probably did not see the difficult lives of the help. The story is being told from their perspective and seems to be getting at the gratitude white people felt from having someone who cared in their lives.
My other feedback is below.
- The movie cost $4 at the matinee in my town. The prices have been lowered here. I recall $5.50 for a matinee several weeks back. There were an estimated 150 people of various ethnicities in my theater.
- People were quiet during the movie. Other than the expected laughs at the onscreen events, people were quite respectful. Aibilene and Minnie’s relationship was funny, perfect, sisterly and heartwarming. That is so nice to see onscreen. People could emulate that more in real life.I laughed out loud several times.
- Minnie and Skeeter were quite humorous even though there were a few serious moments.Octavia Spencer, who plays Minnie, ought to model hats for a living. Her images in hats were inspiring. Someone styled her beautifully. The green crochet-looking hat was my favorite.
- Aibilene’s wig care was informative and funny. She kept curlers in it when she wasn’t wearing it. The intent may not have been to be a joke but after seeing the wig a couple of times I laughed because of how Aibilene took such good care of it. It was surprising to see that level of detail. I loved it.
- Cicely Tyson and Sissy Spacek were fabulous as usual.Black Maids instilled lots of confidence in children. They were expert mothers.
- The book was a bit different. For example, in the book Minnie ran into Miss Celia’s husband before Miss Celia told him about Minnie. Also, the reason Aibilene had cared for seventeen children is that she deliberately found new work after the children were about nine years of age. Aibilene felt that the children started to believe what their parents told them about maids and African Americans once they reached a certain age. Obviously, she wanted to leave the relationship on a high note.
- We need more Skeeter’s in this world. She was funny and sincere. The scene with the toilets on Hilly’s lawn was pure entertainment.
- Overall, I loved the movie and how the maids supported each other through the toughest times.