The real star of "Lee Daniels' The Butler" isn't the mild-mannered manservant of the title, but his alcoholic wife, played by Oprah Winfrey in her first major acting role since "Beloved" fifteen years ago. It's easy to forget that Oprah is an actress first and a host second -- she was nominated for an Academy Award for her very first film role as Sofia in "The Color Purple" in 1985. She dominates this film, owning every scene she's in with a subtlety and fierceness that is surprising after 25 seasons of celebrity interviews. Her dynamic portrayal is the emotional heart of an otherwise hackneyed film.
"The Butler" is the latest movie from Lee Daniels, the Oscar-nominated director of "Precious". It tells the story of Cecil Gaines, a butler who served at the White House for 34 years under eight different Presidents, very loosely adapted from the accounts of real-life White House butler Eugene Allen. It's a sweeping look at America during the volatile Civil Rights Movement, as told from the point-of-view of a silent eyewitness inside the White House itself.
Forest Whitaker, who plays the eponymous butler, won Best Actor in 2007 for portraying another historical figure in "The Last King Of Scotland", and his performance here similarly hits all the right notes. With his droopy hangdog face and soft voice, Whitaker strikes an appropriately unimposing presence. The very conceit of the film requires Whitaker to be a reactor and not an actor, which doesn't make for the most showy performance, but Cecil's quiet dignity and his struggle to reconcile his roles as quiet butler and commanding father gives Whitaker plenty of opportunities to shine.
The cast is stuffed to the gills with big Hollywood names, mostly in brief cameos, which is exciting for the audience, but also a little distracting. It's fun to go, "Was that Mariah Carey?" or "Hey, it's Robin Williams!" But ultimately the game of spot-the-celebrity pulls the moviegoer out of the experience. That's not to say the actors aren't great in their cameos: especially memorable are Alan Rickman and Jane Fonda as Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
The other large role here goes to David Oyelowo (also of "The Last King Of Scotland") as Cecil and Gloria's oldest son Louis, a fiery civil rights activist. Oyelowo does his best, though he is hampered by the fact that he's playing a prop rather than a person: Louis magically finds himself at every major event of the Civil Rights movement, including the Woolworth sit-in, the Freedom Riders bus, and the formation of the Black Panthers. It's the same Sparknotes-style gloss of American history that "Forrest Gump" is sometimes derided for. "The Butler" is clearly going for the same level of prestige as that Best Picture-winning film, with "For Your Consideration" all but stamped across every frame. Far more interesting than Louis' high school history lesson experiences are his clashes with his frustratingly docile father. Whitaker and Oyelowo play off each other so well that you wish the film had actually been less ambitious and more intimate.
The film may be overly sentimental, but fortunately for Lee Daniels, it is still possible to be manipulated while knowing you're being manipulated -- and "The Butler" hits all the perfect, tearful notes: the fantastic actors, moving speeches, and sweeping score combine to make an important-feeling film that will no doubt be remembered come Oscar season.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhrR4B0hUaw[/youtube]
