The story centers on two groups of women in the racially charged atmosphere of a 1960's Jackson, Mississippi - "the help" and their white employers. Aibileen "Abie" Clark (Viola Davis, Doubt) works for Miss Elizabeth Leefolt and cares for her young daughter, Mae Mobley, while her best friend, spirited Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) works for Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard), a selfish snob, who is also the leader of the local Junior League. When Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone, Easy A) comes home from college at Old Miss, having actually obtained a degree instead of a husband like all of her Junior League friends, she secures a job at the local newspaper, writing a cleaning column, although her true desire is to be a serious writer. Since cleaning is not her forte, she asks Abie for some tips and the two strike up a friendship. Skeeter is appalled at the way her former friends, especially Hilly, treat "the help," even going so far as to build a separate toilet so that they aren't using the same facilities as their white employers. Skeeter decides to write a book about what it is like for the maids, as seen through their own eyes, and her first volunteer is Abie, although it is a difficult sell. These are dangerous times and the two are very careful to keep their relationship and the stories they share a secret.
As things progress and more of the maids decide to open up to Skeeter, Hilly ramps up her "sanitation" crusade to force each white family to build a separate bathroom facility for their help. When Hilly fires Minny over a disagreement and she goes to work for Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), a white trash floozy who happened to get pregnant and marry Hilly's ex-boyfriend, the plot thickens. Despite Celia's vain attempts to break into the Jackson female social circle, she is blocked by Hilly at every turn, and quite obviously so.
Once Skeeter's scathing book is anonymously published, it becomes the talk of Jackson. Naturally, all of Hilly's friends begin to recognize their own stories in the book, but Hilly makes it her personal mission to make sure that everyone is convinced that the book is not about Jackson, since Hilly's personal embarrassment lies within those pages courtesy of Minny and it would socially destroy her amongst her circle of socialite friends. As the walls close in on Hilly, she strikes back viciously against the maids who spoke to Skeeter, destroying lives in the process. Although Skeeter's book brings about great change for the community, changes like these rarely come without growing pains.
I just can't say enough good things about The Help. Being someone who grew up in the Deep South, I found it interesting to see a slice of life from a time period that I didn't personally experience. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are absolutely brilliant in their roles, as are Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard. Sissy Spacek is a kick as Hilly's mother, ever amused at her uptight daughter's undoing, and Allison Janney is fantastic as Charlotte Phelan, Skeeter's ailing mother who has difficulty understanding her free-spirited daughter. Cicely Tyson plays a small but pivotal role as Constantine, the woman who cared for Skeeter as she grew up and she is amazing. Honestly, everyone is spot-on in this film and I can't gush enough about it.
The special features include a handful of deleted scenes (although there are extra deleted scenes on the Blu-ray over the DVD version), a Mary J. Blige video, a making-of and a featurette on the women who inspired this story. I especially enjoyed the making-of and the featurette because it was great to learn about the childhood friendship between director Tate Taylor and author Kathryn Stockett and how this story became a film, and the featurette on the women who inspired the filmmakers was especially moving. Go Blu-ray over standard def to see the additional special features and a much more crisp viewing experience.
Whether you rent or buy, this film is a definite must-see. You'll laugh and you'll cry, but mostly, you'll marvel at these amazing actresses.
