Best Picture nominee The Help stays true to essence of the book

Austin Baragary
2/17/12

I would rather not sound like a pretentious jerk, but I first picked up a copy of The Help by Kathryn Stockett nearly one year before the trailer for the film adaptation was making the rounds in theaters. However, it was not until I saw the trailer that I remembered that the book sat at home on my shelf, having been lent to me by a trend-setting friend.
My initial reaction to the trailer was, “I have to see that! It has so many things I love: strong female characters, triumphs over injustice, Emma Stone.” After reading the book, my reaction became that of any other bookworm when a book is plastered on the silver screen: “I wonder how they will do that,” or “I will see it, but I will not like it because nothing could be as good as the book.” Needless to say, I did see the film, and found it to be both incredibly powerful and enjoyable and, dare I say it, a very good adaptation of the novel.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the film version of The Help, it follows three distinct but interwoven stories. First, it chronicles the journey of Aibileen Clark, played by Viola Davis. Aibileen is a black maid in Jackson, Miss. Aibileen’s specialty is children. She tells the audience that she has raised 17 white children in her lifetime, her current charge being the Leefolt children.
Second, viewers are treated to the feisty ways of Minny Jackson, also a maid and Aibileen’s best friend, played by Octavia Spencer. Minny is perhaps the best cook in Mississippi, but has a sharp tongue, which gets her fired early in the film. Her being fired, though, is perhaps the best thing that could have happened, as her response reminds the audience that paybacks can be hell—or, in this case, shit.
Finally, we meet Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a spunky redhead with big ideas who dreams of one day being a writer on the east coast. One of her big ideas is to chronicle the lives of black maids and publish their stories as a book called The Help. This is where the three stories begin to intertwine.
After a very justified period of resistance to Skeeter’s idea, Aibileen eventually agrees to allow the young journalist to tell her story. Minny and almost 30 other maids agree to tell their side of the story, resulting in a book that causes quite a splash in Jackson.
Sprinkled among the three protagonists are a racist socialite, a kind, loving blonde bombshell who married the hateful socialite’s ex-boyfriend and an overbearing yet surprisingly endearing mother. Add a dash of an incredibly heart-wrenching plot point involving Skeeter’s maid, and you’ve got yourself a movie that’s almost as good as one of Minny Jackson’s legendary pies.
Without going into much detail about the plot, I can tell you that The Help deserves its nomination in the Best Picture category. Movies are stories, and this one is especially good. The players in this tale accomplish their tasks with bravura and the writers were able to capture the emotion of the novel and translate it easily onto the big screen.
This optimist cannot recommend The Help highly enough. Just remember to bring your tissues with you and be prepared to be struck with an urge to spark social change. Do not worry, just go with it.