Review of The Butler (2013) by Johnny T — 25 Jan 2014

With "Academy Contender" written all over it, Lee Daniels' The Butler is a dramatic and emotional historical overview of the civil rights movement and the political landscape in the US during the 20th Century. Well-paced and gripping, this pretending to be based on true events story(but actually only loosely connected to the true facts), shows a world of racial violence, changes and endurance in way offering enjoyable run through history, but unfortunately lacking the sharpness to truly mesmerize.

Almost sixty years of American social and racial history is shown through the eyes of the Afro-American Cecile Gaines (Forrest Whitaker, as a depiction of the real life Eugene Allen) who rose from a kid living in a cotton farm to the Butler of the US President for more than thirty years. What is initially supposed to be a schematic and predictable story of a single person's life and involving racial issues, turns into a movie depicting forty years of Afro-American struggle for equal rights. Even though, there is violence, confrontation of ideas and believes between Cecile and his son, the movie only shows some historical events, without delving deeper into them, without truly challenging the Presidential Administrations during the 60s, 70s, 80s. This is probably The Butler's only weak point: just like its character it is only a quiet observer of what happens in the American society.

This, of course, does not deprive the movie from being a completely entertaining story. Not only the story, but also the ensemble of Hollywood stars participating in Lee Daniels' project is a main reason for The Butler's strong grip on the audience. Starting with Forrest Whitaker (who could have received an Oscar nod for his role), through his colleagues butlers Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lenny Kravitz and finishing with Oprah Winfrey, Terrance Howard, Robin Williams, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, this movie has so much to offer.

Considered an early Oscar contender, The Butler did not receive the Awards nominations which it aspired to get. Nevertheless it remains one of the formidable movies of 2013 and definitely a must see!