Dir: Lee Daniels
2013
***
The Butler is a great film but it (or should I say Lee Daniels), shoots itself (himself) in the foot somewhat. The film is based on the life of Eugene Allen, a Butler who worked in the White House for 34 years serving several Presidents. There are plenty of 'What the Butler saw' scenarios to be had, and while I thought it was clever to have the character's son go on a very alternative journey than his fathers, I thought everything else was somewhat contrived. For instance, our Butler Cecil Gaines's eldest son joins the Civil rights movement and then the Black panthers before running for congress, showing in great contrast the fight for Black rights verses subservience. This works brilliantly and is enough, but then Gaines youngest son (Allen actually only had one) seems to have been written specifically to see him go to War even though the reason or indeed Gaines views on the subject are not mentioned. When you span nearly 90 years of American history you do have to skip over certain issues but Daniels seems to forget important issues halfway through. The stereotypes are a little shocking too, to the point whereby you wonder who this film is actually for. The Presidents themselves are played by a range of famous faces, all are successful but they also distract from the story and seem to be as much about having a list of big names on the poster as they are for entertainment purposes. I think Lee Daniels is a great director but this just seems like Oscar bait to me, without as much depth or substance as the story deserved. To be honest, I immediately dislike a film when the title includes the name of the director as way of ownership. That said, there is much to like about the film. The performances by Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo are fantastic and are the main reasons you should watch the film and why I enjoyed it.
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