A film that doesn't need all 'The Help' it can get

Our December programme continues with another adaptation of a bestseller (though it's certainly a little more light-hearted than last week's We Need To Talk About Kevin).

Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett, The Help centres on the lives of three women living in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi - a time and place that witnessed the emergence of the civil rights movement. Skeeter (Emma Stone) is a budding young journalist who enlists the service of two African-American maids Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minnie (Octavia Spencer) to assist with her piece that sets to overthrow all societal rules in the community.

Skeeter is curious, amongst many things, as to why the coloured 'help', the label given to them by the white middle-class women that they tend to with childcare and housework, are not allowed to even use the bathrooms in the family home and instead have to use a separate facility built outside. Wishing to write something from their point of view, she instills the courage of not just Aibileen and Minnie but the whole maid workforce to tell their stories of life as a maid, all the while knowing of the risk it will put them under.


Whilst somewhat guilty of merely skimming the surface of its racial themes, the film's true strength lies in the power of its cast, especially Viola Davis, whose performance as Aibileen is sure to get the Academy talking nominations-wise. It's so far proved a huge success across the pond, earning nearly $200 million at the box office and remained top of the box office charts for six consecutive weeks- enough to beat heavyweight blockbuster Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes... and that takes a lot!




Take a look at both the trailer and the official music video to the film's theme song The Living Proof, performed by R'n'B legend Mary J Blige (a definite contender for this year's Oscar for Best Song).




The Help (12A) runs from Friday 9th - Thursday 15th December at The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall.