Released in 2011 and written and directed by Tate Taylor The Help is based on a book that was released a couple of years earlier. I will admit, this one completely passed me by and I had never heard of it until I saw it when searching for something to watch on Disney Plus. I saw that it had an absolutely crazy stacked cast and decided to give it a try and I was not disappointed.
How to Download The Help
The Help was released on August 10, 2011. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. Also, check another film directed by Tate Taylor – The Girl on the Train (2016).
The Movie Review
Star-Studded Cast and Historical Context
One of the fun things about this movie for me is that it stars Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard, both of these ladies played Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man which is kind of awesome. That is a neat bit of movie trivia for you that you are free to take and use to impress your friends, family, and co-workers.
The Help is a movie that captivates you pretty much right from the start. It is set in the 60s during the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi and some of the stuff that the movie deals with is kind of brutal. The way black people were treated is just disgusting and when you think about it, this was not actually all that long ago that stuff like this was happening out in the open like it is portrayed here.
Skeeter’s Journey from Observer to Storyteller
Emma Stone plays a young woman called Eugenia who is known as Skeeter. Skeeter has graduated college and is looking to make her way as a writer. Skeeter returns home and is shocked at the way maids are treated by their white employers. She realizes that the way they are treated is flat-out wrong and that they do not have a voice!
She has a writing job that she is not exactly thrilled with and Skeeter decides that she is going to write about what these maids go through and she is going to get the story in their words! As you would expect, not many maids are willing to come forward and speak about their lives due to fear of being fired.
Aibileen and Minny: Voices of Courage
Skeeter though is persistent and she manages to convince Viola Davis’s Aibileen to share her stories and experiences of what it is like being a maid. As well as Aibileen, we also have Octavia Spencer’s Minny who is Aibileen’s friend. I love how outspoken and upfront Minny is, she holds nothing back and the way she is treated during the movie is disgusting, but she is not scared to stand up and speak her truth.
Character-Driven Drama and Powerful Performances
We have some other fantastic characters such as Celia who is played by Jessica Chastain who got a ton of critical acclaim for her role here. The most shocking performance for me was Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly. The way she treats people and her manipulative style was shocking to see from Bryce Dallas Howard. It made me respect her as an actress even more as she tends to always play nice and likable characters so seeing her play a character so flawed was great and very impressive.
Reflecting on the Impact and Message of “The Help”
At the end of the day, The Help is a movie that is very character-driven. There is a good message here of treating people right and speaking up when you see that something is wrong. Overall, I enjoyed this one and I am glad that I stumbled across it on Disney Plus, give it a watch if you are in the mood for something that has some great acting performances and also a lot of depth to the story and message it has.
