Lee Daniels' The Butler

Let the Oscar buzz begin. Just four years after directing the award-winning Precious, Lee Daniels has catapulted his name in front of a film that has far greater names attached. The Butler is one of those films that finds the heart of the audience and grabs hold. It's a story ripe for emotion with its racial sensitivity and historical perspective spanning from the 1920's to the present. Like so many films today, it is inspired by a true story, and without much warning, it has hit the big screen as the first Oscar horse out of the gate. We all know that the first horse usually falls behind by the end of the race, but I am just filled with metaphors tonight, so horse racing it is. The Butler is a thoroughbred. With a cast chock full of past winners and nominees, it is so well executed that it is much more Forrest Gump, and less Tyler Perry than you might expect.

The Butler follows a young African-American from Georgia as he grows up in the 1920's in the heart of racist America. He learns to be a good, respectful domestic helper, and finds himself serving Presidents in the White House before long. He continues to serve under the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations and finds that he is more influential on the powerful men in control of the politics of the nation than he ever thought he could be.

It's a bit of an underdog tale, but really it's more of glimpse at how unsuspecting patience and genuine kindness can truly cause social change. Lee Daniels does a tremendous job maintaining the authenticity while keeping the entertainment value high. It's a truly difficult balance when films about racial injustice typically are disheartening and somber, but like this year's 42, the protagonist is strong and the outcome makes you really want to cheer and cry at the same time.

Forest Whitaker is outstanding as the quiet, submissive Cecil Gaines. He says all the right things to get himself a job working as a butler, and none of it seems contrived or with any ulterior motive. He is an affable guy with a strong set of values and wants to work hard to make a living and raise a family away from trouble. It's a heartbreaking portrayal to see a character with a perception of the Old South (not even really that old) parlay to the way he lives in a more progressive city like Washington, DC. Over the decades, he rarely wavers from his ideology, and even with changes in Civil Rights, he maintains his position with his family and his friends. He knows that speaking up, or acting out is just asking for trouble, because he saw it on the Georgia plantation where he was raised. But, as time marches on, his perspective of America begins to change, and the transformation is nothing short of beautiful.

Oprah Winfrey makes a rare film appearance for the first time in 15 years, and it is a tremendous performance. Playing Cecil's wife, Gloria, she follows her husband through thick and thin and raises her two children best she knows how. The depth of her devotion while knowing that her husband is following the tune of a time gone by is captured through her eyes, and although her actions in the beginning lead you to dislike her, thinking she doesn't deserve Cecil, she redeems herself possibly more than any other character in an explosive dinner conversation.

Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, and Lenny Kravitz play the friends and co-workers that Cecil makes along the way, and they bring what little levity and comic relief that there is, but more importantly, they show the camaraderie that develops within the community. Men facing the same injustices as each other, but living the same lives as white folks. Working, raising families, having parties with friends on weekends, etc. It shows that sense of normalcy within a racially divided country.

Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, Liev Schrieber, James Marsden, and John Cusack play Presidents, each with his own take on the role (and in some cases pretty heavy makeup). With the exception of Cusack, they are believable, but it might have been nice to have lesser known actors play the Commander-in-Chiefs. I'm not exactly sure what the intention was in casting them, all I can think is that it lends a sense of familiarity and trust with the audience. Whatever it was, by the Kennedy administration, I was excited to see who the other Presidents were going to be played by.

Mariah Carey, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda, and Minka Kelly also make brief appearances, which leads me to believe that Lee Daniels has much more clout in Hollywood than people (I) think. The cast as a whole is a who's who of actors. This may be the strongest ensemble of the year to this point. Watch out for Daniels over the next few years, he's going to make more films that will get plenty of attention from actors and actresses. After directing Precious in 2009, he is definitely a rising star, even if he's in his 50's.

David Oyelowo is the one actor that I thought deserves special mention. Among a cast of stars, he shines the brightest as Louis Gaines, the eldest son of Cecil. Last seen in Jack Reacher and Lincoln, Oyelowo will be in Chris Nolan's upcoming box office grenade Interstellar. If you don't recognize him now, you will next year. He is the emotional focus of the film. The angst and sense of unfairness that is boiling under the surface. Forest Whitaker's Cecil is the protagonist, but he rarely outwardly loses his cool. His son Louis however, shares the Forrest Gump of the story. Cecil meets the Presidents, but Louis sees injustice and gets involved with the Freedom Riders, the Woolworth sit-ins, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Black Panthers and Malcolm X, and eventually wins back the affection of his father.

Danny Strong wrote an incredible screenplay based on an article by Wil Haygood. I had the privilege of meeting the man at a hotel in California a few years back, and he was working on a script at the time. I gave him some advice and was on my way. I like to think that meeting me was the stroke of luck and inspiration that he needed to catapult himself to massive screenwriting success. The project he was working on was called Game Change, which won him two Emmys. The Butler may add to his collection of gold, but if not, he has the two Mockingjay films in the pipeline, and will work with Ron Howard and Tom Hanks on The Lost Symbol after that. Impressive, and it's all because of me.

The Butler is an amazing lesson in American history, and Lee Daniels and Danny Strong don't lay it on too thick. They highlight major events that are glamorous and memorable for good or bad, but they also do so in a way that is endearing and relatable. I teach American History to middle school kids, and I'm going to find a way to use this film to show a 2 hour look at how critical the Civil Rights Movement really was during the 1960's. I think a lot of other films gloss over the humanity and focus on the violence or the injustice, but The Butler blends the two nicely. It is a remarkable story of one man's journey through life, and I for one am glad it had a happy ending. 9/10.