Someone please call the real 'Butler'
/Lee Daniels' The Butler
Directed by: Lee Daniels
Written by: Danny Strong & Wil Haygood
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey
I imagine that the story of Cecil Gaines, the titular character in Lee Daniels' The Butler, when told properly and concisely is interesting and engaging. I understand that screenwriters Danny Strong and Wil Haygood had a vast amount of story to cover. After all, Cecil Gaines worked in the White House for ____ years, serving eight different US Presidents. Yet, by the end, it seemed unnecessary to cover his entire life (the film opens with an _____ year-old Cecil.) The film is a two and a half hour version of A&E’s Biography. And, there’s a reason why Biography was kept to only one hour. At times meandering, at times rushed, always uneven, The Butler strips away meaning and development to become a parade of ‘who’s who’ and the only real excitement gleaned from watching the film is waiting to see which famous actor will play the next president.
Forest Whitaker gives a great, though not fantastic, performance has Cecil Gaines, the humble butler who had the unique position of seeing the most significant events of the second half of the 20th century. It’s a perfectly passable performance and carry’s the movie well, but it’s really the supporting cast who steal the show. In particular, Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey, who plays Cecil’s wife Gloria, has a command of every scene she’s in (in fact, most of the best scenes in the film are due to her performance) and understands the depth of her character that her pain is visible on screen. Cecil’s commitment to his job often overshadows his commitment to his family, which causes much stress and pain on Gloria. She feels and takes on, the burden this places on her family. Winfrey gives the only Oscar worthy performance in the entire film.
After Precious and The Paperboy, Lee Daniels seemed to have solidified himself has a director who could handle raw emotion, controversy, and realism. Somehow, that wasn’t the direction he wanted to take with The Butler. Unfortunately, his style here is glossy, restrained, and ultimately boring. It’s unclear if he felt that he might turn off some if he portrayed serious civil rights events with less restraint and honesty. This also could be due to the fact that an entire character and story arch were completely fabricated. In real life, Gaines only had one son. In the film, he’s given a second who, once going to college, joins the civil rights movement only to become a member of the Black Panther party. These scenes felt forced, unrealistic, and incompetently directed. For someone who in the past had been so unafraid to allow the audience some truth and discomfort, it’s unfortunate here that we are given, not only a false account of history, but the elementary school version.
Each actor picked to portray one of the US Presidents do a fantastic job and are incredibly fun to watch - most particularly Alan Rickman and Jane Fonda as Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Yet, this parading of A-List actor after A-List actor does not a good movie make. There has to be some element of truth and realism. And if I wanted a visual history of Gaines’ life from age 0 to death, I would read his biography. There’s a great, misguided desire that filmmakers have when doing biopics that they must show the subjects entire life. No, you don’t. The audience needs only a snapshot, it just needs to be the most important snapshot. The one that tells us the most insight about the character, who they were, who they strived to be, and who they became. It has to be relatable, relevant, topical, and concise. Otherwise, I’ll read the 1000 page biography on my own.