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Change begins with a whisper. "The Help" stars several well-known actors: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Allison Janney, Cicely Tyson and Sissy Spacek. Aibileen (Davis) and Minny (Spencer) are the maids of white families. Skeeter (Stone) is a white woman who has grown up with black maids and she loves them with all her heart. She is an aspiring writer and decides to write a book from the perspective of the help, hence the title. But she has trouble finding maids who will tell her their stories because of the risk of getting caught. Eventually, Aibileen and Minny agree to help out.
This film is mainly about civil rights. We see the different perspectives of the maids who cook, clean and raise white people's children. It shows how people treated the maids in different ways, as family or as animals. Some parts can be quite disturbing and uncomfortable to watch, which turned me off to the movie a bit.
In my opinion, more adults would enjoy this movie than would teenagers or kids. The setting and the topic can be less fascinating to kids who learn about civil rights in school rather than adults who lived through it.
The casting and the acting are spectacular. However, the story line isn't very original. It's fast-paced and keeps you focused on the movie, not the people. There are many depressing parts, uplifting parts and lots of comic relief.
For this film, I've decided to give two ratings. One is based on the quality of the movie and the other is based on my opinion of the movie. Because of the acting, the tear-jerking moments and the enlightening moments, I give "The Help" a 9 out of 10. However, because of the uncomfortable scenes and the overdone topic, I didn't love the movie. For my overall enjoyment, I give it a 6 out of 10.
Katherine Grace Marra is a junior at Weston High School who reviews films from a teen's perspective on her blog www.katherinegracem.tumblr.com.
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