The first scene in the film approaches the bleakness of Daniels' 2009 movie Precious in its hard-hitting nature. Cecil Gaines (later played as an adult by Forrest Whitaker) is shown working with his father as a cotton picker in 1920s Georgia , where the bitterness post-slavery hangs in the air. He watches helplessly as his father is gunned down for confronting one of the owners of the plantation. Shortly thereafter, he becomes a "House Negro" and learns the techniques of serving from the house's matriarch, Annabeth Westfall (Vanessa Redgrave). After eventually leaving and acquiring a job at a hotel, he learns the fundamentals of silence and anticipating the customer's needs. He's so successful that he eventually lands a job as a butler at the White House, where he serves under Presidents ranging from Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan.
While Cecil's career is blossoming, his home life crackles with tension. His wife, Gloria (Opera Winfrey), resents her husband's long working hours and drinks heavily to cope with stress. And his oldest son, Louis (David Oyelowo), uses college as a channel for civil rights activism, a starkly different approach from his father's non-confrontational way of life. His non-violent protests, including sitting in the "white" section of a diner and riding the Freedom Bus, result in him being constantly threatened, beat up, and arrested. But after Martin Luther King's assassination, Louis concludes that more drastic measures are necessary and joins the Black Panther movement.
In devoting the lion's share of screen time to the rift between Cecil and Lewis, The Butler represents a conflict that movies rarely give us (mostly due to the bullshit that executives spew about such material "not selling" with audiences), and I couldn't be more grateful that it does. For Cecil, the ideal role for the Black man in America is to work hard and don't rock the boat, and as tempting as making a bold statement can be, his career and family life are better served if he stays silent. For Louis, it means taking a stand against laws that are morally wrong, even if it means earning a bad reputation from his family for getting arrested so many times (even his brother, who is about to serve in Vietnam, makes the pointed comment that "You fight your country, I fight for it."). Both approaches have their merits and drawbacks, but eventually, each man must meet the other half-way. Cecil breaks through by lobbying the colored staff to earn pay equal to whites, and Louis learns that there's a limit to how much rebellion is just too much.
Forrest Whitaker's performance elevates an already strong, thoughtful story. His presence is so forceful that all signs of the well-known actor are lost in this character. When various political figures confide in him during times of crisis (such as Nixon during Watergate or Jackie Kennedy after her husband's assassination), we see the pain evident in the character's face as he fights against engaging them and instead offering the familiar refrain, "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Likewise, we can sense Cecil's awkwardness when he and his wife visit a White House dinner late in the film as guests (invited by Nancy Reagan, played by Jane Fonda. Yes, Jane Fonda.) and are served by his co-workers. David Oyelowo is also superb. Many viewers will feel Louis' frustration with the world and his father's seemingly subservient mentality. And Opera Winfrey disappears into her character; the popular talk-show host is very choosy with movie roles, but when she takes one, she pours her heart and soul into it. Whitaker will score an acting nomination for sure, but Oyelowo and Winfrey at least deserve consideration in the supporting categories.
If there's an obvious weakness in The Butler, its that the "big name" casting of some of the Presidents are jarring and out-of-place. While James Marsden and Liev Schrieber hold their own as JFK and LBJ, respectively, Robin Williams (playing Dwight Eisenhower) sticks out like a sore thumb. John Cusack's Richard Nixon impersonation is laughable, to say the least. And whose bright idea was it to cast a Brit (namely the otherwise superb Alan Rickman) as Reagan? Fortunately, the Presidents aren't around for many scenes because the movie is only tangentially about them and their policies. The White House scenes are dominated largely by Whitaker as well as Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lenny Kravitz, who offer much-needed comic relief as two senior butlers.
With films like 42, Fruitvale Station and The Butler (not to mention the upcoming 12 Years a Slave and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, whose trailers precede this movie), race relations has proven to be just as ubiquitous a movie topic in 2013 as superheroes. I imagine The Butler will strike a few blows during Oscar season; it has the intelligence and emotion one expects from a film of its type. It doesn't "whitewash" any of its content; Daniels presents the turbulence during the Civil Rights movement as starkly as a PG-13 film will allow. It occasionally seems like The Butler is rushing through history (not to mention offering a partisan ending), but that's okay because every event in the film carries a powerful link to the main characters' mindsets. In short, The Butler is a winner, the kind of film that enriches and entertains in two emotionally rewarding hours.
Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
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