Loved the book (me), loved the movie (Jack and me). In case you've been living in a cave, this is the story of black maids in 1960s suburban Mississippi and the white girl who decides to help them tell their stories. Viola Davis is fabulous as Aibileen, Octavia Spencer chews the scenery as Minny, while Emma Stone shines as Skeeter, the 24 year old idealist who writes the book. Certain topics make me weepy, and prejudicial injustice is one of them. Don't get me wrong, I like to cry in movies, so I had a ball. Jack wondered if I was coming down with a cold because of all the sniffling! Emma Stone (just seen in Crazy, Stupid, Love.) may have first billing, and she's good, but this movie belongs to Davis and Spencer. I'm so glad to see Davis in a starring role, after her single scene in Doubt got her an Oscar nomination and she has had such success with other small roles (It's Kind of a Funny Story, State of Play, Eat Pray Love, and my personal favorite, as free spirit painter and conwoman Lynda P. Frazier on United States of Tara), and she may get another nomination for this. Spencer also deserves a nomination, and she will be no overnight success, as she has been working steadily since 1996 (90 roles, including colorful cameos in The Soloist and Dinner for Schmucks). According to Wikipedia, she is friends with Kathryn Stockett, whose novel was faithfully adapted into this movie by director Tate Taylor (also a friend), and Stockett based Minny on Spencer's outspoken habits. Taylor has done some acting, and directed one other feature, Pretty Ugly People (2008) with Spencer and Allison Janney among others. Janney (after I profiled her in Away We Go she was in Life During Wartime and a whole lot of TV shows) is predictably good as Skeeter's mom. Then we have Bryce Dallas Howard (small part in Hereafter, bigger one in Spider-Man 3 (2007) as Gwen, and other things I haven't seen), who is terrific as the hateful big-haired Hilly and Jessica Chastain (last seen as a delicate redhead in The Tree of Life) is also wonderful as the persistent and ebullient bottle blonde Celia. Sissy Spacek (I wrote about her in Get Low) is hilarious as Hilly's mom, as is 4'11" Mr. Leslie Jordan (Boston Legal, more) as the newspaper editor. Chris Lowell, who plays Stuart, will be familiar to fans of Private Practice, on which he played the hunky Dell. Twins Emma and Eleanor Henry are adorable and spot-on as little Mae Mobley, and that's Cicely Tyson playing Constantine with prosthetic teeth.
I won't be surprised if this movie also gets nominations for production design, wardrobe (big crinolines) and the aforementioned hairdos. Jack and I think there should be a category for picture cars, too. The vintage automobiles in this are cherry, dude.
My hero Thomas Newman (I wrote about him in the last paragraph of The Adjustment Bureau) has composed a moving soundtrack, due to be released September 13. You can listen to clips on iTunes, even though "Aibileen" is misspelled. Then there are a lot of songs, more than the 12 that are already out on the other soundtrack album. Clips are available on amazon.
Not just for chicks, this flick is powerful and we recommend it.
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