THE BUTLER 3.3 ****
Some years ago a television mini-series was made from Lillian
Rogers Parks' memoir “Backstairs At The White House” where Leslie Uggams
as the White House maid and author of the book chronicled here years from Taft
to Eisenhower. “The Butler” continues the saga of life in the White House
from Eisenhower through Reagan from the perspective of Cecil Gains, a White
House butler. We also get a view of the history of the times as it effects the
Gains family.
Cecil Gains, played by Forest Whitaker, comes from about as humble of circumstances as you can find. He and his family were sharecroppers and as a child he saw his father murdered and his mother raped by the white plantation owner. He runs away from the plantation and time and circumstance land him in Washington, DC where he's hired as one of the White House butlers. From there he sees history made as the Civil Rights era passes and he lives long enough to see the incredible progress made toward racial equality in the USA. It affects his family as well. His wife, played by Oprah Winfrey, is anything but the perfect wife. She smokes and drinks to help her endure the loneliness of a workaholic husband. The oldest son, played by, David Oyelowo is heavily and personally involved in the civil rights struggle which his father strongly disapproves of . Whitaker and Winfrey do not have a Cosby type family marriage by any means. Their marital problems are realistically portrayed but they manage to endure because there’s real love there between them through it all.
Cecil Gains, played by Forest Whitaker, comes from about as humble of circumstances as you can find. He and his family were sharecroppers and as a child he saw his father murdered and his mother raped by the white plantation owner. He runs away from the plantation and time and circumstance land him in Washington, DC where he's hired as one of the White House butlers. From there he sees history made as the Civil Rights era passes and he lives long enough to see the incredible progress made toward racial equality in the USA. It affects his family as well. His wife, played by Oprah Winfrey, is anything but the perfect wife. She smokes and drinks to help her endure the loneliness of a workaholic husband. The oldest son, played by, David Oyelowo is heavily and personally involved in the civil rights struggle which his father strongly disapproves of . Whitaker and Winfrey do not have a Cosby type family marriage by any means. Their marital problems are realistically portrayed but they manage to endure because there’s real love there between them through it all.
The Butler”
should have several Oscar nominations. Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey for sure as well as John Cusack who
plays Richard Nixon ( in all his nuances) and Liev Schriber who
plays LBJ ( it’s hysterical AND accurate.)
Those who
lived through the Civil Rights Movement will easily connect with “The
Butler” . But even more so the movie is an excellent history lesson for those
who don’t know what it was like during such a tumultuous time in
America's race relations. This is an important movie that should transcend time
and become a lasting contribution to the portrayal of the Civil Rights
movement. Future generations must learn what really happened and how this
difficult time impacted America.
Clark
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