I am not sure that I can do justice to this movie in such a brief space. Director Lee Daniels has created a wonderful movie about a man who lived through an awful time in American history. Cecil Gaines (played beautifully by Forest Whitaker) began his life on a cotton plantation and found his way to working for seven presidents in the White House. The movie tells the story of how he saw such tragedy in his life ... how his whole paradigm of life was upended so many times ... and how he was changed by his son's involvement the Civil Rights movement. I loved this movie.
The Butler reminded me of another movie, Forrest Gump, in the way that it told our American story through the eyes and life of one man. I was moved to tears as I relived the horrendous events in our history - the film allowed us to experience the sufferings of not only a man but of many courageous African Americans.
I highly recommend this movie and, on a scale of ten, give it ★★★★★★★★★.
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Absolutely loved this movie and am very upset that the Academy Awards didn't nominate anyone from it. Yes it tells and excellent story, I was very impressed and plan on buying it on DVD when the price goes down. I was so impressed that I went out and bought the book after I saw the movie because I felt I wanted my grandchildren to read it someday. Did the same thing with The Help.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe a movie like Gravity was nominated and this one was not Debby.
DeleteI was very interested in this movie and thought it would be a great one. However, after researching it on line and discovered that most of the movie was Hollywoodized and not true turned me off, disappointed me, and robbed what good the movie could have done. To say it is based on actual events is a stretch. Why couldn't they just tell the truth. It is more uglier, dramatic, sensationalized than making things up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Gregg.
DeleteGuess I saw it more as a vehicle (like Forrest Gump) that was used to tell a larger story.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll add it to the list.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy it Fred!
DeleteI knew going into it that this was not the story of the life of Eugene Allen, if it was, the character would have had his name. Instead, it used his story as the inspiration for this very moving story that represented a lot more than just Allen's life. Here's a good breakdown of which parts actually came from Allen's life: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/16/the-butler-fact-check-how-true-is-this-true-story.html I'd recommend only reading it if you have seen the film.
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