Renowned producer and director Lee Daniels (Precious, Monster’s Ball) has another prospective award winner on his hands with the star studded film The Butler.
Opening this past Friday, the film follows an African American man, Cecil Gaines (played by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker), through his life, much of which was spent as a White House butler under eight United States presidents. The film spans several decades, beginning with Gaines as a child on a cotton plantation in Georgia, and following his life through the entire Civil Rights movement, several presidents, and on through President Obama’s election.
Cecil’s life course is set after the plantation owner (Alex Pettyfer) brutally rapes his mother (Mariah Carey) and shoots his father (David Banner) in the head when he shows his anger. The lady of the plantation (Vanessa Redgrave) takes Cecil to work in the house rather than the fields. He is educated on being a server of the utmost elegance and, more importantly, invisibility. Cecil leaves the plantation to find a better life in a more northern part of the country.
Cecil eventually makes his way to nation’s capital and one of the most prominent hotels in Washington D.C. There he meets his wife, Gloria (played by Oprah Winfrey, her first role since 1998). After impressing a White House staffer by his non-political opinion on integrating schools, he is invited to become a butler at the service of the President of the United States.
A whole new cast of characters is introduced at this point in the film, both professionally and personally. We meet some of the Gaines’ neighbors (Terrence Howard), as well as Cecil’s co-workers (Lenny Kravitz, Cuba Gooding Jr., Colman Domingo). The first president Cecil is tasked with serving is Dwight Eisenhower, played by Robin Williams.
As we move through Cecil’s life, we see his special attachment to the Kennedy family (James Marsden and Minka Kelly play the iconic couple) and his utter distress upon JFK’s assassination. From there, Lyndon B. Johnson (Liev Schrieber), Richard Nixon (John Cusack), and Ronald Reagan (Alan Rickman) all have a special fondness for Cecil. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford are only seen through archival images.
I'm usually not a big fan of ensemble casts but The Butler is a BEAST!!!! #OscarSeason
— Anson Carter (@AnsonCarterLA) August 19, 2013
In the background of Cecil’s service, the film focuses on the parallel of racial tensions and the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Cecil’s older son, Louis (David Oyelowo), graduates from high school and moves down south for college and to become a part of the movement. He and his girlfriend, Carol (Yaya Alafia), are there for many of the major events, including protesting segregated lunch counters, the bombing attack on a Freedom Rider bus, Martin Luther King Jr. (True Blood’s Nelsan Ellis), and Malcom X and the Black Panthers. Louis’ work for the movement is a source of conflict between himself and Cecil, with Cecil being embarrassed that his son is frequently in jail and living in fear that he will be fired for Louis’ beliefs. Conversely, Cecil’s other son, Charlie (Elijah Kelley), goes to Vietnam to fight for his country. Eventually, Louis gives up the extremes and runs for office as a way to change the world.
Just saw "The Butler", outstanding performances by all, highly recommend.. Fantastic job Lee Daniels.. #Oprah #Forest
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) August 19, 2013
Cecil’s career comes to a point when he successfully lobbies for equal pay under Reagan’s administration. Nancy Reagan (Jane Fonda) invites Cecil and Gloria to the State dinner as her guests. Cecil sees the two faces the butlers must have to be servers as well as go through life and feels guilty for sitting at the dinner. Cecil soon leaves his position to protest with his son for the release of Nelson Mandela after overhearing Reagan say he doesn’t want to intervene in South Africa. The final scene of the movie brings the story full circle, as Cecil becomes a guest of President Obama’s.
The star studded cast helps bring script writer Danny Strong’s story to life. This isn’t Strong’s first foray into political scripts. His script for 2008’s HBO film Recount garnered 11 Emmy nominations and five Golden Globe nominations. The spark for the story came from the Washington Post’s Wil Haygood’s story on Eugene Allen, a butler who had served eight presidents.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler is a The Weinstein Company film, Rated PG-13 for some violence and disturbing images, language, sexual material, thematic elements and smoking. The running time is 132 minutes.
