'The Help' Review

Though promotional posters and magazine articles have billed Emma Stone as being this film's leading lady, she by no means stole this show. Granted, her acting was excellent and she was the perfect fit for the role of Skeeter. But just like in the book, The Help, Skeeter wasn't the main character in this story.

Instead of having the book's multiple narrators, the film's sole storyteller was the maid Aibileen (played by Viola Davis). Davis was truly the film's central character with the necessary wisdom, emotion and understanding of the role to make it great. Having read the book and watched the film's trailer, I was concerned that the movie wouldn't be able to capture the seriousness of the story's topic. Luckily, those who may think this film is a comedy will be somewhat disappointed. The film did a good job of not being a simple feel-good comedy set in turbulent times.

The only scene I found to be unrealistic was between Skeeter and her mother Charlotte (played by Allison Janney). In the scene, Charlotte stands up for her daughter, acknowledging that Skeeter wrote the book and that Charlotte is incredibly proud of her for doing so. The character of Charlotte in the book was significantly flawed, while still being lovable as a mother. But the film's self-realization moment was not believable, and I felt like it was put in there because no one wants to think poorly of Janney.

Apart from this scene my only other complaint was the inclusion of the character of Stuart (played by Chris Lowell), Skeeter's love interest. In the book the character was much more complex and the author devoted a significant amount of backstory to the role. But Stuart wasn't vital to the central storyline and since the filmmaker didn't include all the scenes necessary to make his character important, they should have just eliminated him completely.

But that's literally every negative statement I have about the film. It was probably the best adaptation that could have been made. The book's complex story and deep emotional pain wasn't lost in translation, which is a rare accomplishment.