The Help

As a book, I've heard many great things about The Help and the trailer caught my imagination. My concerns were as this is a film about racial attitudes in the 1960's, would the film be a touch 'worthy'?

The film centres around the inhabitants of Jackson, Mississippi and in particular the relationships between the white families and the black maids who work for them. The film especially focuses on the role that the black maids play in the raising of children within the white families.

Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) has returned home to Jackson after graduating from the University of Mississippi and is upset to find that the maid who worked for her family has left and there are no plausible explanations provided by her family.

After finding a job at the local newspaper, Phelan decides to write book about the experiences of the black maids. She first approaches Aibileen (Viola Davis) who is reluctant to share her story through fear of losing her job. 

However, after overhearing the plans for a law to insist that black workers have separate bathrooms from their white employers by Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard), she relents and recruits another maid, Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) to tell Phelan their stories.

There are several racially motivated incidences which lead to more and more maids offering their stories to Phelan which lead to the publication of her book.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a real danger that this film could be a 'worthy' film, but thankfully it is anything but. The story seems realistic enough and coupled with some really great performances by all involved, it is an absolute joy to watch.

My only criticism of the film is the 'shoe-horned in' love story between Phelan and a local Senator's son Stuart which, in my view, was completely unnecessary and added nothing to the film.

Verdict: A really lovely film which will make you laugh out loud, cringe and cry in equal measure. With some truly outstanding performances, expect to see this film racking up the film award nominations over the next few months.