The Help

The Help is a 2011 period drama film written and directed by Tate Taylor and adapted from Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast, including Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anna Camp, Allison Janney, Octavia Spencer and Emma Stone. The film and novel recount the story of young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan.

Plot
In 1960s Mississippi, Southern society girl Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns from college with dreams of being a writer. She turns her small town on its ear by choosing to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent white families. Only Aibileen (Viola Davis), the housekeeper of Skeeter's best friend, will talk at first. But as the pair continue the collaboration, more women decide to come forward, and as it turns out, they have quite a lot to say.

Why It Helps The Movie

 * 1) It's able to show how black maids were treated by the perspective of a female writer.
 * 2) * It's also a good take on the racism people of color had to endure in the 1960s.
 * 3) The actors give of good performances, particularly Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer.
 * 4) * The girls, particularly Bryce Dallas Howard, pull off great Mississippi accents.
 * 5) The film also stays faithful to the novel it's based on.
 * 6) Skeeter is shown to have good writing skills, considering the opening scene where she's interviewing Aibileen.
 * 7) The set designs and costumes give off good 1960s vibes and a nostalgic feel.
 * 8) While Hilly's very mean-spirited to the maids, it's pretty accurate to what the white people felt about the people of color.
 * 9) Skeeter's flashback of Constantine is very touching and motivational.
 * 10) The scene where Hilly eats pie not knowing it contains Minny's poop, and only finds out when Minny tells her, is very funny and satisfactory.
 * 11) Touching musical score and a good soundtrack. Mary J. Blige even sang a song for the movie called "The Living Proof".

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The film uses some racial tropes for the characters, such as the "Magical Negro" character.
 * 2) Skeeter is criticized a little for being "too modern" for the time in which the film is set. In fact, in the original novel, Skeeter was a segregationist who finds the thought of an interracial romance "horrific, disastrous" despite opposing to the bad treatment the black maids receive.
 * 3) In the years following the film's release, Viola Davis complained that the film should have also told the story from the point of view of the maids, as the film only tells the story from the point of view of the whites.
 * 4) Elizabeth Leefolt is VERY unlikeable as she SPANKS HER OWN DAUGHTER for using an outside toilet when she didn't know any better.

Reception
The Help received mostly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 76% of 222 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 7.02/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Though arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast—particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own". Metacritic, a review aggregator which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 62 based on 41 reviews. CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an "A+" on an A+ to F scale.

Videos
k8U7KERQv70