The Butler

THE BUTLER

Director : Lee Daniels

Year : 2013

Genre : Drama

Rating : ****

Thanks to films such as 'Precious', 'The Paperboy' and 'Shadowboxer', Lee Daniels has become known as one of the most respected African American filmmakers working in cinema today. By focusing his attention on the various aspects of the black subculture in The States, he succeeds in giving the usually maligned African American community a voice as well as highlighting and pointing out the hereditary racism that is still instilled in the people of America today. While 'Precious' focused on the struggles of one black person in the world, 'The Butler' somehow manages to capture an entire demographics social and political history by chronicling the story of one man who was a first hand witness to some of the most monumental, moving and terrifying scenes in African American history. Telling the story of Eugene Allen (names Cecil Gaines in the film) who was the servant to five of America's most popular and controversial presidents, 'The Butler' manages to capture the cultural, social and political zeitgeists of each individual era and thanks to a fantastic central performance by Forrest Whittaker as well as a supporting cast that includes Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding Jr, John Cusack, James Marsden and Alan Rickman, director Lee Daniels brilliantly brings to the screen a story that is moving, terrifying and ultimately uplifting.

While he would grow up to become one of the most important and influential figures in the history of the White House, Cecil Gaines' (Whittaker) early life could not contrast more with his austere and somewhat noble future. Growing up in the cotton fields of 1920's Macon, he would witness his mother being raped and his father being shot by the landowner, forcing him to run away and eke out a living stealing food and water from the local pastry shops. One night while breaking and entering a hotel patisserie, Cecil is unexpectedly hired by the hotelier and he soon learns the ways of servitude from the head butler Maynard. After several years of work, Cecil is recommended for a job at a hotel in Washington D.C which he accepts and there he meets his wife Gloria (Winfrey) with whom he has 2 children Louis and Charlie. In 1957, he is hired to work at the White House for Dwight D. Eisenhower (Robin Williams) and and for the next three decades, Cecil is an eyewitness to many of the most earth shattering moments in American history; from the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King to the founding of The Black Panther movement and the beginnings of the Vietnam war. 

Told in very broad and manageable strokes, Lee Daniels manages to involve and engross us in the story and the characters and although the picture may feel heavy in both emotionality and dialogue, Forrest Whittaker's stoic but powerful performances diverts us from the wordy screenplay and individual moments of hard to watch racial terror. While these scenes may not be as graphic or as brutal as other films such as Alan Parkers 'Mississippi Burning' or Tony Kaye's 'American History X', 'The Butler' still contains moments of unbelievably tense racism and shockingly disturbing violence against African Americans. By using both reconstructed film as well as actual archive footage of Ku Klux Klan activity, 'The Butler' feels so much more real and therefore more terrifying than movies that try to tell a story about racial segregation through fictional characters. 

Much like 'Forrest Gump', 'The Butler' succeeds in putting us in time and place at some of the most important events in American history. However, while 'Forrest Gump' presented us with a benevolent character who director Robert Zemeckis made the face of the general American population, the film finds a way through the character of Cecil Gaines to put the fears and ideologies of the African American community purely onto his shoulders and this makes the character feel much more vulnerable and important than Tom Hank's dim witted hero. In his performance, Forrest Whittaker finds the perfect balance of both quiet reservation and understandably forceful opinion to make the character of Cecil Gaines feel much more believable and relatable than the average movie protagonist and this in turn makes the entire picture feel much more believable and relatable.  Already known for his strong, determined acting in films such as 'Panic Room', 'Phone Booth' and of course the Academy Award winning 'The Last King Of Scotland', Whittaker adds yet another role to the huge list of extremely memorable and heartfelt performances.

As is the case with Whittaker, the supporting cast give unanimously brilliant performances and every actor does their best in making their characters feel believable and three dimensional. Alongside Whittaker, Oprah Winfrey gives a possibly Oscar winning performances as his powerful and strong willed wife who is a perfect contrast to Cecil Gaines' quiet and composed personality. Together, the pair play a couple who is incredibly credible and plausible and help to add to the dynamics of the movie and the highlights the ways in which the racial segregation not only affected an entire subculture when out on the streets but also affected black people in their daily lives at home.

While much of the movie works extremely well, the casting of the presidents and the way in which they are portrayed momentarily takes us out of the picture. This is not because the acting by the various stars such as Robin Williams, John Cusack and Alan Rickman is any way bad, but is is because they are barely given any makeup or prosthetics to make them look remotely look like the historical figure they are playing. This is especially true in the cases of both John Cusack and James Marsden who are not remotely changed to look like Richard Nixon or John F. Kennedy respectively and rather than seeing Nixon or Kennedy on screen, I just saw Cusack or Marsden in a suit and this really does detach us from the film. However, these moments are rare and thanks to both Daniels' expert direction and Whittaker's pitch perfect performance, we are soon again involved in the characters, the narrative and the historical relevance of each individual scene. 

Sure to be nominated for a heaping helping of awards next year, 'The Butler' is a must see for those who love fantastic cinema and barn storming performances. As always as is the case with possible award contenders, there has been some controversy; this time revolving around the historical accuracy of the events of the titular butler but as I always say, Ignore the stupid controversy. It is a very, very good film that should be taken for what it is; a beautifully moving insight into the history of the African American people. Realism isn't absolutely everything in cinema; 25 foot sharks don't exist and 'Jaws' is the greatest film ever made. A film doesn't have to be truly realistic to be great and 'The Butler' is most definitely great. A critical hit in America and sure to be a smash over here too, it is a picture that won't be forgetten for a good while yet.