Directed by: Lee Daniels
Starring: Forest Whitaker, David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Rated PG-13, 132 minutes
Forest Whitaker stars in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” (Courtesy photo)
I’m hard pressed to think of what to say about “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” probably because I’d be hard pressed to think of what the movie, the story of a man who serves in the White House through eight administrations, is about. It’s simultaneously the story of a black man’s turbulent upbringing in mid-20th century America, the story of him and his son learning to see eye to eye, the story of a strained marriage, the story of the civil rights movement in America, the story of Vietnam, and a story about friendship. The most accurate and holistic judgment I can make is that the film is a textbook example of Oscar bait, and depending on your taste, that might be a big irritation.
The film follows the life of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland”), who in 1957 gets a job as a butler in the White House and stays until the Reagan administration. We see his troubled and poor childhood, as well as the unexpectedly kind (or at least helpful) people who taught him how to serve, and thus how to make a living. We meet his family, including his wife Gloria (TV mogul Oprah Winfrey) and his son Louis (David Oyelowo, “Jack Reacher”), both of whom take issue with Cecil’s apolitical profession (“There is no tolerance for politics in the White House,” the maître d’ quips).
The biggest conflict comes about in the form of Louis’ involvement in the civil rights movement. Taking advantage of an education his father never received, Louis learns about the injustices that black Americans face and decides to get involved with various recognizable movements—the sit-ins, the Freedom Riders, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, and even protests to end apartheid in South Africa. And as he gets involved with the more radical movements, Louis’ modern views clash with Cecil’s older, more complacent point of view.
The father-son dynamic is by far the most compelling and impressive part of the film. Oyelowo, a relative unknown in a sea of Hollywood’s finest, does a great job of portraying a young man who honestly wants a better future, but isn’t sure how to fight for it. It would have been satisfactory to focus on this relationship, and to use it as a microcosm for American political change in the 20th century, but writer Danny Strong (TV’s “Game Change”) needlessly adds an endless laundry list of key American moments that have an effect on Cecil’s life, from the Little Rock Nine to JFK’s assassination to Watergate and beyond. As such, Whitaker’s role is tenuous to watch, at times seeming strong and motivated and at other times forced to emote because the movie revisits so many important historical moments.
Additionally, the casting of the film is bizarre and involves perhaps the most outlandish list of celebrities I think I’ve ever seen in one movie. Mariah Carey, Vanessa Redgrave, Lenny Kravitz, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, John Cusack, Live Schreiber, and Jane Fonda all make appearances in what ends up feeling like a star-studded sermon about human decency. Unfortunately, few of them play real characters, mostly serving as talking heads and historical narrative devices. Oprah Winfrey’s Gloria is that perfect mix of likability and flaws that makes the performance compelling to watch, even if the role gets sullied with unnecessary and manufactured dramatics. And Cuba Gooding, Jr., as Cecil’s best friend in the White House, does little more than act benign towards Cecil—which, although likable, isn’t interesting to watch.
Which is how most of the movie plays: It’s likable, and maybe there are characters you enjoy watching or scenes you find entertaining, but as a whole it’s not interesting enough to be worth the 132-minute running time. Lee Daniels doesn’t seem to have a point in telling the story of Cecil Gaines, except to say that the civil rights movement is important. But he does so in a verbose and drawn out way, leading us by the hand through something we’d rather see handled more subtly. The movie tells the story of a man and his country, but trying to summarize 50 years in two hours is bound to come across as superficial. And the Oscar bait glow doesn’t help.
Danny Eisenberg is a 2010 graduate of the Bromfield School and is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania.
