The Help (film)

The Help

Two black maids standing, beside two white women on a bench. Against a bright yellow background, the text in light purple.

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tate Taylor
Produced by
Written by Tate Taylor
Based on The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
Starring
Music by Thomas Newman
Cinematography Stephen Goldblatt
Edited by Hughes Winborne
Production
company
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release date
  • August 9, 2011 (2011-08-09) (Beverly Hills)
  • August 10, 2011 (2011-08-10) (United States)
Running time
 146 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million[1]
Box office $216.6 million[1]

The Help is a 2011 American period drama film directed and written by Tate Taylor, and adapted from Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Octavia Spencer, and Emma Stone. The film and novel recount the story of young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan. The story focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi. In an attempt to become a legitimate journalist and writer, Skeeter decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids—referred to as "the help"— exposing the racism they are faced with as they work for white families.

DreamWorks Pictures acquired the screen rights to Stockett's novel in March 2010, and quickly commissioned the film into production with Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Brunson Green as producers. The film's casting began later that month, with principal photography following four months after in Mississippi.

Touchstone Pictures released The Help worldwide, with a general theatrical release in North America on August 10, 2011. The film was a critical and commercial success, receiving positive reviews and grossing $216 million in worldwide box office.[1] The Help received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress for Davis, and Best Supporting Actress for both Chastain and Spencer, with the latter winning the award. The film also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Plot

The story is set in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963. Aibileen Clark is an African-American maid who works for Elizabeth Leefolt, a white woman suffering from postpartum depression. Aibileen's best friend is Minny Jackson, a plain-spoken African-American maid known for her culinary skills who works for Hilly Holbrook's senile mother, Mrs. Walters. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a young white woman, returns home after graduating from the University of Mississippi to discover that her mother, Charlotte, has fired Constantine, Skeeter's childhood nanny.

Much to her mother's chagrin, Skeeter aspires to be a writer. After spending time with Aibileen, Skeeter becomes increasingly disgusted with the shameful way her white socialite friends treat their "help", especially when Hilly forwards a letter to the Home Help Sanitation Initiative to install separate bathrooms for the help, and decides to write about the housekeepers' experiences. The maids are initially reluctant to comply, afraid of retribution from their employers, but Aibileen eventually agrees, becoming emotionally attached to the project as it allows her to find closure after the death of her son four years earlier. Minny also complies after Hilly fires her for refusing to go outside in inclement weather to use the help's toilet and subsequently makes false claims that Minny was fired for stealing, making it nearly impossible for her to find another job.

Minny eventually finds work with Celia Foote, wife of wealthy socialite Johnny Foote, Hilly's former beau. Celia is starved for friendship due to Hilly's efforts to ensure she remains a social pariah. Celia befriends Minny during cooking lessons and informs Minny that she is pregnant. Their relationship deepens after Celia miscarries.

Skeeter submits a draft of her book to Harper & Row. Her editor, Elaine Stein, advises her that more maids' stories need to be included. Following the assassination of Medgar Evers and the arrest of Yule May, the maid hired by Hilly to replace Minny, more maids decide to offer Skeeter their insights.

As the writing continues, Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny worry that some maids and their families will be recognized in the book. Minny, as a form of insurance, reveals the "terrible awful” she did to Hilly. In a fit of pique over being fired and having her reputation damaged by Hilly's lies, Minny baked her own excrement into a chocolate pie for Hilly, who ate two slices before being informed by Minny of the pie's ingredients. Minny predicts the story will keep the maids safe from retribution, as Hilly will wield her influence to convince her social circle that the story did not take place.

With the book almost finished, Skeeter confronts her mother about Constantine's firing. Charlotte reveals that during a lunch with the local chapter of the Daughters of America, Constantine's daughter Rachel arrived and embarrassed Charlotte by disobeying her order to enter through the kitchen. To save face, Charlotte fired Constantine and ordered her and Rachel to leave immediately. Rachel subsequently took Constantine to live with her in Chicago. Charlotte had every intention to bring Constantine back to Jackson, but Constantine died before she could do so.

The book, published anonymously, is a success. Hilly does everything in her power to protect her reputation after reading about Minny's “terrible awful”. She becomes unhinged when a check from Celia for one of Hilly's charitable works is made out to "Two Slice Hilly." She then drives intoxicated to the Phelan plantation to confront Skeeter and inform Charlotte about her daughter's "hippie ways". Charlotte implies she knows that Hilly is the subject of the pie anecdote and orders her off the property. Charlotte and Skeeter reconcile, and Charlotte offers to help her prepare to move to Manhattan, where Skeeter has been offered a job with Harper & Row.

Due to the friendship between Minny and Celia, Johnny tells Minny she has a job with them for as long as she wants. This kindness gives Minny the courage to leave her abusive husband and take her children to live with the Footes.

Because Hilly cannot expose herself as the recipient of Minny's excrement-filled pie, she attempts to frame Aibileen for theft and, after pressuring weak-willed Elizabeth into silence, fires her. Aibileen condemns Hilly as a godless, vindictive woman. Defeated and humiliated, Hilly breaks down in tears and leaves. After saying farewell to Mae Mobley, Elizabeth Leefolt's physically and verbally abused daughter, Aibileen leaves Jackson with the hope of becoming a writer.

Cast

The Help cast at 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards (Octavia Spencer in center, holding the cast's award)

Production

In December 2009, Variety reported that Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe would produce a film adaptation of The Help, under their production company 1492 Pictures. Brunson Green of Harbinger Productions also co-produced. The film was written and directed by Stockett's childhood friend, Tate Taylor, who optioned film rights to the book before its publication.[2] DreamWorks acquired the film rights to the novel in March 2010.[3] Reliance Entertainment and Participant Media co-produced the film.[4]

The first casting news for the production came in March 2010, was reported that Stone was attached to play the role of Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan.[5] Other actors were since cast, including Davis as Aibileen; Howard as Hilly Holbrook, Jackson's snooty town ringleader; Janney as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's mother; and Lowell as Stuart Whitworth, Skeeter's boyfriend and a senator's son.[6][7][8] Leslie Jordan appears as the editor of the fictional local newspaper, The Jackson Journal.[9] Mike Vogel plays the character Johnny Foote. Octavia Spencer portrays Minny. A longtime friend of Stockett and Taylor, Spencer inspired the character of Minny in Stockett's novel and voiced her in the audiobook version.[10][11]

Filming began in July 2010 and extended through October. The town of Greenwood, Mississippi, was chosen to portray 1960s-era Jackson, and producer Green said he had expected to shoot "95 percent" of the film there.[12] Parts of the film were also shot in the real-life Jackson, as well as in nearby Clarksdale and Greenville. One of the few locations that existed in 1963 Jackson, the book and the film is Jackson landmark Brent's Drugs, which dates to 1946. Other locations that can still be found in Jackson include the New Capitol Building and the Mayflower Cafe downtown. Scenes set at the Jackson Journal office were shot in Clarksdale at the building which formerly housed the Clarksdale Press Register for 40 years until April 2010.[13]

The Help was the most significant film production in Mississippi since O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)[14][15][16] "Honestly, my heart would be broken if it were set anywhere but Mississippi", Stockett wrote in an e-mail to reporters. In order to convince producers to shoot in Greenwood, Tate Taylor and others had previously come to the town and scouted out locations; at his first meeting with DreamWorks executives, he presented them with a photo album of potential filming spots in the area. The state's tax incentive program for filmmakers was also a key enticement in the decision.[14][15][16]

Release

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributed The Help worldwide through the studio's Touchstone Pictures banner.[17] On October 13, 2010, Disney gave the film a release date of August 12, 2011. On June 30, 2011, the film's release date was rescheduled two days earlier to August 10, 2011.[18]

Home media

The film was released by Touchstone Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and digital download on December 6, 2011. The release was produced in three different physical packages: a three-disc combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy); a two-disc combo pack (Blu-ray and DVD); and a single-disc DVD. It was also released as a digital download option in both standard and high definition. The DVD version includes two deleted scenes and The Living Proof music video by Mary J. Blige. The digital download version includes the same features as the DVD version, plus one additional deleted scene. Both the two-disc and three-disc combo packs include the same features as the DVD version, as well as "The Making of 'The Help': From Friendship to Film", "In Their Own Words: A Tribute to the Maids of Mississippi", and three deleted scenes with introductions by director Taylor.[19][20][21]

Reception

Critical response

The Help received mostly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 75% of 208 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 7.1 out of 10. The site's consensus states, "Though arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast—particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own."[22] Metacritic, a review aggregator which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 62 based on 41 reviews.[23] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an "A+" on an A+ to F scale.[24]

Tom Long from The Detroit News remarked about the film: "Appealling, entertaining, touching and perhaps even a bit healing, The Help is an old-fashioned grand yarn of a film, the sort we rarely get these days."[25] Connie Ogle of The Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars and said it "will make you laugh, yes, but it can also break your heart. In the dog days of August moviegoing, that's a powerful recommendation."[26]

A more mixed review from Karina Longworth of The Village Voice said: "We get a fairly typical Hollywood flattening of history, with powerful villains and disenfranchised heroes."[27] Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail, giving the film two out of four stars, said: "Typically, this sort of film is an earnest tear-jerker with moments of levity. Instead, what we have here is a raucous rib-tickler with occasional pauses for a little dramatic relief."[28] Referring to the film as a "big, ole slab of honey-glazed hokum", The New York Times noted that "save for Ms. Davis's, however, the performances are almost all overly broad, sometimes excruciatingly so, characterized by loud laughs, bugging eyes and pumping limbs."[29]

Some of the negative reviews criticized the film for its inability to match the quality of the book. Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press said about the film: "Some adaptations find a fresh, cinematic way to convey a book's spirit but The Help doesn't."[30]

Many critics praised the performances of Davis and Spencer. Wilson Morales of Blackfilm.com gave the movie three out of four stars and commented, "With powerful performances given by Viola Davis and scene stealer Octavia Spencer, the film is an emotionally moving drama that remains highly entertaining."[31] David Edelstein from New York magazine commented that, "The Help belongs to Viola Davis."[32]

Ida E. Jones, the national director of the Association of Black Women Historians, released an open statement criticizing the film, stating "[d]espite efforts to market the book and the film as a progressive story of triumph over racial injustice, The Help distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers." The ABWH accused both the book and the film of insensitive portrayals of African-American vernacular, a nearly uniform depiction of black men as cruel or absent, and a failure to acknowledge the sexual harassment that many black women endured in their white employers' homes. Jones concluded by saying that "The Association of Black Women Historians finds it unacceptable for either this book or this film to strip black women's lives of historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment."[33]

Roxane Gay of literary web magazine The Rumpus argues the film might be offensive to African Americans, saying the film uses racial Hollywood tropes like the Magical Negro character.[34]

Box office

The Help earned $169,708,112 in North America and $46,931,000 in other territories for a worldwide total of $216,639,112.[1]

In North America, on its opening day (Wednesday, August 10, 2011), it topped the box office with $5.54 million. It then added $4.33 million on Thursday, declining only 21 percent, a two-day total to $9.87 million.[35] On its first weekend, the film grossed $26.0 million, coming in second place behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes.[36] However, during its second weekend, the film jumped to first place with $20.0 million, declining only 23 percent, the smallest drop among films playing nationwide.[37] The film crossed the $100 million mark on its 21st day of release, becoming one of only two titles in August 2011 that achieved this.[38] On its fourth weekend (Labor Day three-day weekend), it became the first film since Inception (2010), to top the box-office charts for three consecutive weekends.[39][40] Its four-day weekend haul of $19.9 million[41] was the fourth largest for a Labor-day weekend.[42] Notably, The Help topped the box office for 25 days in a row. This was the longest uninterrupted streak since The Sixth Sense (35 days), which was also a late summer release, in 1999.[43]

To promote the film, TakePart.com hosted a series of three writing contests.[44] Rebecca Lubin, of Mill Valley, California, who has been a nanny for nearly two decades won the recipe contest. Darcy Pattison's "11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph" won "The Help" Children's Story Contest with her story about a tenacious young girl who refuses to take a good photograph while her father is away "soldiering". After being chosen by guest judge and children's-book author Lou Berger, the story was professionally illustrated.[45] The final contest was about "someone who inspired you". Genoveva Islas-Hooker charmed guest judge Doc Hendley (founder of Wine to Water) with her story, A Heroine Named Confidential. A case manager for patients with HIV, Islas-Hooker was consistently inspired by one special individual who never gave up the fight to live.

Accolades

Soundtrack

The Help: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released July 26, 2011
Genre Blues, soul, rhythm and blues, rock and roll
Label Geffen
Singles from The Help
  1. "The Living Proof"
    Released: August 16, 2011

The original song is "The Living Proof" by Mary J. Blige.[46] The soundtrack was released on July 26, 2011, through Geffen Records.[47]

Track listing
No.TitlePerformersLength
1."The Living Proof"Mary J. Blige5:57
2."Jackson"Johnny Cash and June Carter5:28
3."Sherry"Frankie Valli5:35
4."I Ain't Never"Webb Pierce1:56
5."Victory Is Mine"Dorothy Norwood3:47
6."Road Runner"Bo Diddley2:48
7."Hallelujah I Love Her So"Ray Charles2:35
8."The Wah-Watusi"The Orlons2:32
9."Personality"Lloyd Price10:29
10."Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"Bob Dylan3:38
11."Let's Twist Again"Chubby Checker2:19
12."Don't Knock"Mavis Staples2:30

Score

The Help: Original Motion Picture Score
Soundtrack album by Thomas Newman
Released September 13, 2011
Length 59:34
Label Varese Sarabande

The film's score was composed and conducted by Thomas Newman; Varese Sarabande released a score album on September 13, 2011.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Aibilene"3:07
2."Them Fools"2:50
3."Upside-Down Cake"1:22
4."Mississippi"3:50
5."Heart Palpitations"1:43
6."The Help"2:19
7."Jim Crow"1:45
8."Skeeter"1:03
9."Miss Hilly"1:14
10."Write That Down"1:38
11."Bottom Of The List"3:23
12."Deviled Eggs"2:03
13."First White Baby"2:00
14."Celia Digs"2:06
15."November 22"1:12
16."Not To Die"1:28
17."My Son"2:51
18."Trash On The Road"1:37
19."The Terrible Awful"2:57
20."Constantine"4:09
21."Gripping Testimonials"1:32
22."Sugar"1:50
23."Amen"3:06
24."Mile High Meringue"2:00
25."Ain't You Tired (End Title)"6:29

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Help (2011) – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ↑ Fleming, Michael (December 15, 2009). "Chris Columbus Fast-Tracks 'Help' – His 1492 Prods. Readies Adaptation of Stockett Novel". Variety. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  3. ↑ Fernandez, Jay A. (August 17, 2011). "DreamWorks nabs rights to novel 'The Help'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ Bart, Peter; Patrick, Frater (May 14, 2014). "India’s Reliance: Still a DreamWorks Backer, But Hollywood Sojourn Has Cost a Fortune". Variety. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  5. ↑ Sampson, Mike (March 23, 2010). "Emma Stone Looks to Dreamworks for 'Help'". JoBlo.com. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  6. ↑ Rich, Katey (April 15, 2010). "Viola Davis in Talks To Join Emma Stone in the Help". Cinema Blend. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  7. ↑ Fleming, Mike (April 27, 2010). "Bryce Dallas Howard Lands 'The Help'". deadline.com. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  8. ↑ Kit, Zorianna (May 20, 2010). "Chris Lowell Eyes 'The Help'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ Pierce, Susan (July 24, 2010). "'The Help' Is Coming". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  10. ↑ Sperling, Nicole (May 17, 2010). "Octavia Spencer Nabs Key Role in 'The Help'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  11. ↑ Sperling, Nicole (July 13, 2010). "'The Help' Exclusive: Allison Janney Joins the Cast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  12. ↑ "The Help: Press Kit" (PDF). Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  13. ↑ Moser, Christopher (July 9, 2010). "Lights, Camera, Clarksdale!". Clarksdale Press Register. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  14. 1 2 Kuykendall, Taylor (May 13, 2010). "Movie Adaption of Bestseller To Be Filmed Here". The Greenwood Commonwealth. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  15. 1 2 Ayres, Jeff (May 14, 2010). "Movie To Have $13M Impact on Delta". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  16. 1 2 Byrd, Shelia (May 13, 2010). "'The Help' To Start Filming in Miss. This Summer". Associated Press (via Google News). Archived from the original on May 17, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  17. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (August 17, 2011). "'The Help': Why It Took a Year to Cast the Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  18. ↑ "'The Help' Moves Up Its Release Date to Aug. 10". Entertainment Weekly.
  19. ↑ "The Help Is Coming Home on December 6". ComingSoon.net. October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  20. ↑ "The Help Is Coming to Your House This December". Moviehole. October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  21. ↑ Katz, Josh (October 5, 2011). "The Help Blu-Ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  22. ↑ "The Help". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  23. ↑ "The Help Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  24. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (August 10, 2011). "Box Office Update: 'The Help' Earns a Rare A+ CinemaScore from Moviegoers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Movies | '60s Story of Racism Richly Told". The Detroit News. August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  26. ↑ Ogle, Connie. "'The Help' (PG-13)". The Miami Herald. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  27. ↑ Longworth, Karina (August 10, 2011). "Civil Rights Through a Soft Focus Lens in The Help". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  28. ↑ Groen, Rick (August 10, 2011). "The Help: Civil Rights Lite, Played for Laughs". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  29. ↑ Dargis, Manohla (August 9, 2011). "'The Maids' Now Have Their Say". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  30. ↑ "'The Help' Review: Movie Based on Beloved Book Will Be Loved Best If You've Read the Book". St. Paul Pioneer Press.
  31. ↑ Morales, Wilson. "The Help". Blackfilm.com. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  32. ↑ Edlestein, David. "Movie Review: Viola Davis Gives the Too-Soft The Help a Spine". www.vulture.com. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  33. ↑ Jones, Ida E. (August 7, 2011). "An Open Statement to the Fans of The Help". Association of Black Women Historians. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  34. ↑ Gay, Roxane (August 17, 2011). "The Solace of Preparing Fried Foods and Other Quaint Remembrances from 1960s Mississippi: Thoughts on The Help". The Rumpus. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  35. ↑ "'The Help' Bags Solid $9.9M in Two Days". Box Office Mojo.
  36. ↑ "Weekend Report: 'Apes' Cling to Top Spot, 'Help' Cleans Up". Box Office Mojo.
  37. ↑ "Weekend Report: 'The Help' Reigns Over Gutless 'Conan,' 'Fright Night'". Box Office Mojo.
  38. ↑ Gray, Brandon (September 2, 2011). "August Box Office Rises and Falls". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  39. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (September 4, 2011). "Box Office Report: 'Apollo 18' and 'Shark Night' Still in a Dead Heat". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  40. ↑ "Weekend Report: 'The Help' Works It Over Labor Day". Box Office Mojo.
  41. ↑ "September 2–5, 2011". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  42. ↑ "Top 4-Day Labor Day Weekends". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  43. ↑ Subers, Ray (September 9, 2011). "'Help' Posts Longest Daily No. 1 Run Since 'Sixth Sense'". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  44. ↑ "Take Part".
  45. ↑ "11 Ways To Ruin a Photograph". 11 Ways to Ruin a Photograph.
  46. ↑ "Soundtrack Details For "The Help" (Track List Includes Ray Charles, Chubby Checker + Many Others)". indieWire. June 21, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  47. ↑ "The Help (Music from the Motion Picture)". amazon.com. July 26, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
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