The Help (12A)

The good people at The Methodist Recorder (www.methodistrecorder.co.uk) have given me permission to post the reviews that I write for them on here, with a wait of a couple of weeks from when the paper goes to print. My reviews for them are (unsurprisingly) more geared towards Christian readers.

Here we have The Help, which is still in cinemas and well worth a look:

The Help (12A)

The Help is a heartwarming tale set in Mississippi during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Local girl Skeeter is the only white person in her town with an affinity for the black maids who work in the white middle class homes. She alone seems moved by their mistreatment, and so she sets about using her skills as a writer to produce a book to shed light on their untold plight.

Based on the best selling book by Kathryn Stockett and directed by relative newcomer Tate Taylor, The Help deals with issues that aren’t perhaps as relevant in 2011 as they were in their day, but which do certainly conjure themes that are timeless and goldmines for truth about the human condition.

A lot of effort has gone into recreating the period, and the authenticity is enhanced by the absence of any big name Hollywood stars, bar perhaps guaranteed future star Emma Stone as the naïve but assured Skeeter. Visually the film glows with an inviting charm, making the story and experience it has to offer all the more appealing.

Unusually for a film on wide release, there are moments which unmistakably portray Christianity not just with respect, but also as a positive and constructive worldview. In order to write her explosive book Skeeter must persuade enough maids to be interviewed, at great personal risk to each. Both fear of God and conviction of what is right are clearly shown to be deciding factors in the maids’ decisions to stand up for what they believe in.

If there is a villain in the film then it is Hilly Holbrook, a bitterly racist prima donna. She is brilliantly portrayed with malevolent relish by Bryce Dallas Howard. Octavia Spencer is hilarious as the feisty and daring Minny, a maid who’s candid contributions prove crucial to Skeeter’s chances of success, and Viola Davis represents The Help’s best hopes for Oscar glory with her emotive performance as Aibileen, the bravest of Skeeter’s interviewees who has many stories of her own to tell.

The Help deals with a very dark period of history, and effectively considers themes ranging from hypocrisy through to friendship. In doing so Taylor has crafted a film that is thoroughly entertaining, and yet totally dignified in it’s reflections on racism, even boldly including the passé view that if you can love your enemy, then victory is yours already.