The Butler Reviews

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a really interesting  cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I must admit that, even though I initially had some doubts, it turned out to be a really strong story. Indeed, the tale of this black man growing up in the cotton fields who then served various American presidents for more than 30 years was actually quite fascinating and it gave a really different look on how a black man could behave in a rather opressive society just to be able to have a decent life. Unfortunately, they made the mistake of also including the various struggles in his private life but, not only it was completely made up for this movie, it just didn't work really well, especially everything involving his older son. Indeed, it greatly undermined the main character but it also gave a rather generic and predictable view on the Civil Rights movement without mentioning the fact that the guy somehow managed to be involved in every single major events occurring at the time. As a result, it seemed that the makers were not sure how we should perceive the main character. Should we feel sorry for him? Should we admire him? Should we think he was a coward? I believe that, if they had removef his son's quest for equal rights and if they would have focused only on this butler, it would have been much more interesting and powerful. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was still a pretty good historical drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It amazes me how the least talented actor is the lead in a movie with such a large, otherwise impressive, cast.
I wanted to watch this because of the history aspect and sadly I had to experience another horrific example of Whitaker's inability to emote in a believable way.

Also, this film fails to follow basic film tactics that become distracting in several scenes.

Finally, what is with all the famous actors playing presidents? It takes us out of the scene each time.

The Butler is a masterpiece. The acting is phenomenal. The story is fantastic and intriguing. It was interesting to see such a person deal with the different styles of politics throughout the years. It was also interesting to see how his family had to deal with everything. One thing I would have liked to see was either someone playing Barack Obama at the end of movie or at least the man himself. I mean the guy that played him Orlando Eric Street had filmed some scenes, but they were cut before the film came out.

There are a lot of musical personalities who play characters in this such as David Banner (Rap), Mariah Carey (Pop), Lenny Kravitz (Funk/Pop), and I guess you could say Terrence Howard is kind of a rapper (Djay from Hustle & Flow). All of them do well with what they are supposed to do in this.

You know when you see Oprah Winfrey in a movie it or involved it should be taken as a serious film. That is exactly what this is as it has some sad scenes. It has a lot of serious topics of the times that are dealt with and done well in my opinion.

I enjoyed Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, and Nelsan Ellis as I think they did their roles very well. There are a few other familiar faces that don't have much screen time and their names aren't really considered big yet which include Elijah Kelley, Yaya Alafia, Jesse Williams, Danny Strong (Although he has been around for a few decades, and Michael Rainey Jr. (a slightly new young face who has already done a few interesting films).

At first when I heard Nelsan Ellis was going to play Martin Luther King Jr. I thought that he couldn't pull it off and I thought he didn't really look like him. When I watched it I thought the performance was alright, but he wasn't exactly on screen long enough to be considered good or bad.

David Oyelowo is a remarkable actor and plays various ages of Cecil Gaines' son Louis from I think his late teens to quite a bit older and actually pulls it off really well.

It was interesting to see some somewhat big and some kind of big actors playing brief roles like Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams, John Cusack, Liev Schrieber, James Marsden, Minka Kelly, Alan Rickman, and Jane Fonda.

Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave didn't do too much, but it was nice to see them. They did well with the brief time they were given. Alex Pettyfer character caused a bit of drama with having I think the briefest time on-screen. Minka Kelly didn't do much at all I think.

Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower was another role I questioned. I actually thought he did pretty well to my surprise. I mean yes Robin Williams can act and can do serious well. I know that. I just didn't think he fit the part until I saw the movie. Apparently Melissa Leo had originally been in this as Mamie, but her scenes were cut.

John Cusack played a believable Richard Nixon. I thought he did pretty well. Not much else to really say about it though.

Liev Schrieber as Lyndon B. Johnson was well done and actually kind of hilarious. A little bit of comedy in an otherwise serious movie about racial topics.

James Marsden was wonderful and charismatic as the young John F. Kennedy. I thought he was quite enjoyable and did well. John F. Kennedy was a great person and did a lot for the USA. It was good to see him played so well.

Last but not least Alan Rickman as the great Ronald Reagan! I think he had the longest screen time of all the presidents and was one of the sweeter ones. I thoroughly enjoyed him in this and the way he played Reagan was great.

Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford were themselves in archive footage so there is nothing to really say about that.

Anyways I really enjoyed this. My wife did as well. Yes some parts drag out a bit, but it is worth getting through to the end.

An important movie, !eat that! Daniel tells all the 'history' of half a century and looses important scenes to depicts his character. Oprah has a better character than she thinks. The presidents are almost caricatures.

You can call it as this year's 'The Help'. This historical drama speaks about an Afro-American orphan kid, which is loosely based on a real person's story. The movie looked more like a television movie than a silver screen movie, but somehow worked very well for me. A man's journey passing through different generation about 90 years of life was remarkably showed in this 2 hours cinema.

The movie focuses on a white house butler called Cecil Gaines. His journey from a farmland to he become a most notable butler who witness changing presidents for the times. Not only it describes his story, but also the historical events that happened in his time during the services he provide for the house. It totally blew me away to know a man who saw vast changes in history, from black people's slavery to become a president of the new world. It is a rare kinda movie like the movie 'Benjamin Button', I loved it.

From the director who gave impressive 'Precious' has made this movie as well and proved his skills for the second time. The transformation of the period of times from one to another was really well cinematiced. You might require to be watched other movies about Martin Luther King, JFK, Nixon, Vietnam war et cetera to understand the other side of the story other than from Cecil's perspective of history. It was just a thought I am giving you, so this movie will work for those who got no knowledge about those stuffs. Definitely it will be one of a prominent movie in the career for both, Forest Whitake as well the director.

"I'm Cecil Gaines. I'm the new butler."

The official title of The Butler is in fact Lee Daniels' The Butler, as The Weinstein Company were forced to make a slight alteration due to peculiar studio politics. It may seem like a trivial change, but it's actually very appropriate, reinforcing that this is not so much a sweeping historical drama but rather a Lee Daniels movie slathered with all of his directorial trademarks. As evidenced in films like Precious and The Paperboy, Daniels is not one for subtlety, opting for a manipulative, heavy-handed approach as opposed to something more dignified. Making matters worse, The Butler is an extremely overstuffed picture, hoping to cover far too much in a 130-minute runtime. With that said, however, it's miraculous to report that The Butler is not too bad on the whole. It's a hugely flawed endeavour, but there's undeniable passion to Daniels' efforts, and there are enough isolated moments of greatness to make this recommended viewing for the demographic who enjoy low-key dramas over big blockbusters.

As a little boy working in the cotton fields of Georgia in the 1920s, Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) witnesses the death of his father who dared to speak up about the brutal rape of his wife. Brought into the house by matriarch Annabeth Westfall (Vanessa Redgrave), Cecil is trained to be a server, gaining experience that bodes well into adulthood. Moving from job to job, Cecil makes his way to Washington, D.C., where he is given the chance to work as a butler in the White House under President Eisenhower (Robin Williams) with fellow servers Carter (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and James (Lenny Kravitz). Becoming a family man, Cecil marries alcoholic Gloria (Oprah Winfrey), with whom he has two sons, including hothead Louis (David Oyelowo) who takes part in protests and marches to fight for civil rights. Cecil serves at the White House for decades, becoming a spectator of great political and social turmoil from the late 1950s up until his retirement in 1986.

Written by Danny Strong (who, funnily enough, played geek Jonathan in Buffy the Vampire Slayer), The Butler is based on the real-life story of Eugene Allen, a black man who served as a butler under eight Presidents during his many decades at the White House. But for reasons most likely related to manipulating viewers, Strong and Daniels fictionalise Allen's story, renaming him Cecil Gaines and changing a lot of the details about his life. Biopics must alter various things for dramatic purposes, but to this extent is borderline offensive, as Strong and Daniels are basically saying that Allen's actual life is not worthy of being depicted in a motion picture. Worse, The Butler is clearly a Lee Daniels movie from its earliest stages, opening with a shot of two dead African-Americans hanging in the moonlight, with an American flag behind them. Cecil's father is murdered very early into the movie, in an act of violence that's not justified beyond the fact that the shooter is an "evil" white man. It's too much.

The narrative of The Butler splits its focus between Cecil and Louis. The movie observes Cecil as he immerses himself into White House regality, becoming a passive Forrest Gump-esque observer to a number of major historical events during which he is forced to be politically disconnected and surrender his individuality. Meanwhile, Louis submerges himself into the civil rights movement, changing radically as he participates in protests and is regularly sent to prison. As long as you're able to accept the contrivance of Cecil's son being a major player in the quest for equality, this arc is one of the aspects of The Butler that succeeds the most, giving us a welcome glimpse of the civil rights movement involving characters we grow to care about. While Daniels does go overboard with histrionics in some scenes, various moments are staged extraordinarily well, including a bus being attacked. For a $30 million movie, production values all-round are competent, with convincing period detail and attractive cinematography. Admittedly, this is a PG-13 endeavour, and a bit of R-rated flavour might've increased the authenticity of several scenes (there's no blood when Cecil's father is shot), but it's not too much of an issue.

The Butler is beset with stunt casting, but the heart of the picture is Whitaker, who's wonderful as the film's namesake. Whitaker plays Cecil across numerous decades, from early adulthood all the way through to old age, and the actor never misses a beat, selling the character's age at any given time through spot-on body language and delivery. Cecil is a conduit of sorts, but with Whitaker we believe him as more than a symbol; he emerges as a flesh-and-blood human. Also superb is Oyelowo, submitting passionate work as Cecil's son Louis. The film observes several changes in Louis, and Oyelowo manages to sell them with seemingly little effort. Meanwhile, Oprah (yes, Oprah is an actress, too) displays unexpected maturity and depth as Cecil's wife, and the likes of Gooding Jr. and Kravitz provide solid support. Also in the film are a string of well-known actors as various presidents; a stern Williams as Eisenhower, a chirpy James Marsden as Kennedy, Liev Schreiber as Johnson, John Cusack as Nixon (yes, it's true), and Alan Rickman as Reagan. The standout is Marsden, who embodies Kennedy nicely; as for the rest, we mostly see the actors rather than the historical figure they're playing.

While watching The Butler, one gets the sense that the film is excluding a lot of detail; Kennedy's assassination is glossed over, Nixon's Watergate scandal isn't dealt with at all, the Vietnam War ends without the audience, and so on. There is too much American history for a single 130-minute flick to cover, but then again Daniels is more interested in African-American struggles, eventually fast-forwarding to Barack Obama's Presidential election win in 2008. Indeed, it's hard to deny that the movie's premise would be better served as a miniseries on HBO, as The Butler feels unfinished in its current state. Nevertheless, Daniels' movie still has merit due to its more powerful scenes, and one has to admire what he was trying to do here. Personally, I'll take an almost-great drama over most of the other dreck that frequently pollutes multiplexes. It will not deserve all of the inevitable Oscar chatter, but its heart is definitely in the right place.

6.7/10

Lee Daniels, even in his awards-baiting prestige mode, is never one for subtly of emotion or the difference between gratuitous and melodramatic and finely assembled montage. The Butler will make you cry and feel an emotion, but only because it has worked so damn hard to beat it out of you when if it had taken a “Just the fact ma’am” approach we would have ended up with something all the better.

The fact is, there are several different films straining to burst forth from this one. And maybe Daniels and his creative staff would have been better served ushering in the project as a mini-series on HBO or a likeminded network that would have remained fairly hands-off. We begin our story in 1920s Georgia, which sees our main character as a young child witnessing his mother’s (off-screen) rape and the murder of his father. In typical style of the rest of the film motivations and shifting political ideology are spoken aloud instead of shown to us, even the things that seem incredibly obvious like a discussion with a teenaged Cecil Gaines, our future butler, and the master servant of a pastry shop who tells him that black people must wear two faces at all times, one for the white world at large and one for their private world.

None of this would have been a major problem if there weren’t a few other things that went wrong with the production. Chiefly, many of the major supporting roles are written as ciphers or walking symbols and not characters in their own right, and the more often than not distracting parade of star stunt-casting. Names like Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, John Cusack, Minka Kelly, Mariah Carey, Live Schreiber, Robin Williams, Alan Rickman and James Marsden certainly look like a tony cast, but they’re frequently stranded with bad makeup jobs and nothing to do. Mariah Carey’s entirely mute performance is particularly distracting at the beginning; her role could have just gone to an extra and nothing would have changed about the sequence except for the distracting nature of Mariah Carey dressed as a field worker. Marsden is a great choice for JFK, and in his limited time makes you think what wonders he could do with the role in a larger capacity, the same thing can’t be said for the rest of the presidents. Williams is decent but doesn’t register much, Cusack spends a lot of time staring off into the distance and doesn’t come close to emulating Nixon, and Schreiber dips into gonzo humor in his sequences which are uncomfortable in the sense that we can’t tell if this is supposed to be played straight or taken as some kind of satire.

But let’s get back to the characters as symbols, a few supporting characters walk away as fully realized characters. Cuba Gooding Jr. makes a welcome return to serious acting and does a commendable job as the fast-talking wiseass of the White House staff, that his character manages to add some depth and personality outside of this one-note role is a good thing. The same thing can’t be said about David Oyelowo as Louis Gaines, Cecil’s oldest son. Oyelowo is a gifted actor and I look forward to seeing more of his work, so it’s not a problem of performance here, purely one of writing a character who just so happens to be involved with every major twist and turn in political ideals and social revolutions of the pre, mid and post-Civil Rights era. First he’s a student protestor, and this segment gives the film its single best moment, a purely transcendent piece of filmmaking that makes the rest of the film feel weaker in comparison. While he is sitting in on a lunch counter, his father is prepping a luxurious dinner at the White House. It’s a quiet summation of the two parallel journeys in the story, Cecil’s quiet revolution by showing that black people are just as hard-working and committed to doing their jobs well as the rest of the society, and Louis’ longing to change the system so that he may dream bigger and achieve higher in society. But then Oyelowo must also take part in the fire-bombing of a bus, MLK’s assassination, the Black Panther party and seemingly every other major moment of the era. Its lazy writing that mistakes plugging a character into a historical situation for another to react towards for development. It would have been much better if The Butler had focused in on one particular presidency instead of delivery a broad history lesson or force-feeding these events to us.

But Daniels is still smart enough to know that the main success of his story was the central picture of a loving couple, and if he didn’t cast those two parts correctly nothing in The Butler would have worked. Forest Whitaker is dynamic and touching in a very quiet, understated, reflective and moving as Cecil Gaines. If there’s any justice, he’ll get a second Oscar nomination out of this. The same is true for Oprah Winfrey as his wife Gloria, who gets the flashier role. It’s hard to imagine Oprah (read: OPRAH!!) as a chain-smoking, alcoholic, adulterous housewife who is just taking out her loneliness and aggression in her life out in these ways, but she nails it. Of course, everyone talks about her glorious back-hand to her son during a highly combative dinner scene, but she’s most alive for me as an actress when she’s venomously questioning Cecil about Jackie Kennedy’s wardrobe and his career late at night. It’s easy to forget what a gifted character actress she is beneath the outsized media persona.

So as we walk away from The Butler I can’t help but bring up The Help, a film which takes place over the same amount of time and tackles much of the same subject matter. But unlike that film, this one doesn’t offer up balm for our wounds. It prefers to have a good hard look at the emotional and psychic scars which this country is still trying to let heal and move past picking at. It’s a mixed bag, but I’ll take the film about black history created by largely black talent over the white people solve racism myth, thank you very much.