With a star-studded cast, a superb screenplay and outstanding directing, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” is strong contender to dominate the 2013 award season. (Poster property of The Weinstein Company, Windy Hill Productions & Laura Ziskin Productions)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing Lee Daniels’ The Butler.
This historical drama focuses on Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker)’s rise from a plantation cotton picker to a White House butler.
Along the way, he tries to please his wife, Gloria (Oprah Winfrey), experiences a “Cat’s in the Cradle” relationship with his son, Louis (David Oyelowo) and successfully serves five U.S. Presidents and their families.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler is an incredible film that you must watch before the Oscar season because of its incredible acting ensemble, screenplay and cinematography.
Both Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey delivered outstanding performances as the Gaines patriarch and matriarch…that could easily make both of them frontrunners for the Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectfully. Forest perfectly balanced the humble server to the U.S. Presidents and the no-nonsense father while Oprah captured hearts of the audience with her portrayal of Cecil’s tortured and devoted wife.
As for the rest of the casting ensemble, keep an eye out for Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Lenny Kravitz’s portrayals of Gaines’ co-workers Carter Wilson and James Holloway; James Marsden, John Cusack, Alan Rickman and Jane Fonda, who perfectly captured the mannerisms of the hopeful JFK, the paranoid Richard Nixon and the classiness of both Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan.
Danny Strong’s superb screenplay was another factor in the film’s success. Mr. Strong perfectly captured the historical aspects of the 1950s to the 1980s that ranged from the Civil Rights era and Vietnam to the Black Power movement and the racial crisis in South Africa. There were also moments of comedy, horror, tragedy and triumph that were perfectly sprinkled throughout the film.
Mr. Daniels’ abilities as a director made his acting ensemble give out those powerful portrayals and his decisions to incorporate the themes of the American Dream, fathers and sons, redemption and civil rights brought out the best in this film. In addition, filmgoers will appreciate that he incorporated photos, clips and sound bytes because it gave the film—the correct vibe that kept the audience’s interest throughout the two-hour and 12-minute film.
Final thoughts & grade: Lee Daniels’ The Butler is an astonishing film that will make its audience think and I strongly believe that this film will get a lot of awards later on this year. A+
