Review of The Help (2011) by Robinsnest — 02 Jan 2012

Amid much fanfare I reluctantly watched The Help. Unless it was a true story or based on such, the subject was uninteresting. Yet I gave this long film a shot. The idea of black women raising rich white children in the south, is not foreign even to those of us in the north.

At one time we had such a person but more a helper not a parent substitute. The characters seemed stock and what happens is rote. Some performances were very good especially by Ms Davis, Ms Spencer, and Ms Chastain.

There are no surprises here. It seems to have struck a chord with women but it could not sustain my interest for 2.5 hours. In summary, some strong performances, mildly interesting subject, but mundane and too long.