"Good. We have no tolerance for politics in the White House."
-Freddie Fallows
Wow, just wow. If there ever was a film to play celebrity bingo this would be a prime target. I'm not really sure if all those high class actors being in it detracted it or not, but I just couldn't help going "Hey that's..." every time a new actor appeared because there are just so many freakin famous actors. Now, regardless of the actors, I thought this was a good film. I initially thought that this was about a butler who worked with numerous Presidents, but what I got was different. In fact I think the film didn't cover enough of the butler in the White House angle because at its core this movie is all about a father's relationship with his son.
The film switches between the father, Cecil, and his family relationships to his son, Louis, with his rights activist ambitions. While it is a father and son story, it also feels like a great movie to show in history class because it references every major activist event while Cecil was a butler for the Presidents. Speaking of history class, it's amazing just how much story is packed into a two hour and twelve minute film. I don't think it rushed anything, it had a nice pace, but I do wish that maybe it would have been better as a TV mini series or something to really dive deep into the character relationships. Overall The Butler is a nice film that, while good, lacks that special something to push it over the edge to greatness.
Warning the following will contain SPOILERS!
At the beginning of the film we see Cecil as a kid working on the cotton plantation and his dad dies and his mother goes crazy, but I really think that scene should have been cut from the film. Everything that happens in that scene is either referenced or alluded to in a much more powerful way than showing the audience the scene that I didn't feel had much impact as it should.
Famous actors aside, I really liked Forest Whitaker's performance. But at the same time he was the only character I really cared about. I guess Louis is in second place for characters that I cared about in the film, but it took a while for me to really care about that character. In fact it actually took awhile for me to get into the film. It wasn't until he started working in the White House that I really started to get invested into the movie. Now I don't know what it is, but I felt like this movie was missing something. Everything was technically sound, for the most part, but it was still missing that special something that could push it into a great movie rather than a good one.
The best thing I loved about this film was the aging. This takes place from Cecil when he's seven to Cecil when he is almost in present day (2008). When movies usually take place over decades the actor barely changes and I just don't believe them as decades older. In this film; however, does a fantastic job at aging characters. Every character felt believable when they gained ten or thirty years. You get to see Whitaker slowly age and limp, the makeup was phenomenal, and once they are really old by the end they even had the shakes when pouring coffee. The attention to detail on how people age is my favorite part of the movie.....I feel like that's not a good thing.
-Freddie Fallows
Wow, just wow. If there ever was a film to play celebrity bingo this would be a prime target. I'm not really sure if all those high class actors being in it detracted it or not, but I just couldn't help going "Hey that's..." every time a new actor appeared because there are just so many freakin famous actors. Now, regardless of the actors, I thought this was a good film. I initially thought that this was about a butler who worked with numerous Presidents, but what I got was different. In fact I think the film didn't cover enough of the butler in the White House angle because at its core this movie is all about a father's relationship with his son.
The film switches between the father, Cecil, and his family relationships to his son, Louis, with his rights activist ambitions. While it is a father and son story, it also feels like a great movie to show in history class because it references every major activist event while Cecil was a butler for the Presidents. Speaking of history class, it's amazing just how much story is packed into a two hour and twelve minute film. I don't think it rushed anything, it had a nice pace, but I do wish that maybe it would have been better as a TV mini series or something to really dive deep into the character relationships. Overall The Butler is a nice film that, while good, lacks that special something to push it over the edge to greatness.
Warning the following will contain SPOILERS!
At the beginning of the film we see Cecil as a kid working on the cotton plantation and his dad dies and his mother goes crazy, but I really think that scene should have been cut from the film. Everything that happens in that scene is either referenced or alluded to in a much more powerful way than showing the audience the scene that I didn't feel had much impact as it should.
Famous actors aside, I really liked Forest Whitaker's performance. But at the same time he was the only character I really cared about. I guess Louis is in second place for characters that I cared about in the film, but it took a while for me to really care about that character. In fact it actually took awhile for me to get into the film. It wasn't until he started working in the White House that I really started to get invested into the movie. Now I don't know what it is, but I felt like this movie was missing something. Everything was technically sound, for the most part, but it was still missing that special something that could push it into a great movie rather than a good one.
The best thing I loved about this film was the aging. This takes place from Cecil when he's seven to Cecil when he is almost in present day (2008). When movies usually take place over decades the actor barely changes and I just don't believe them as decades older. In this film; however, does a fantastic job at aging characters. Every character felt believable when they gained ten or thirty years. You get to see Whitaker slowly age and limp, the makeup was phenomenal, and once they are really old by the end they even had the shakes when pouring coffee. The attention to detail on how people age is my favorite part of the movie.....I feel like that's not a good thing.
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