Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)

[Dementeleus]

Discuss.

[Films]

Fantastic film. 2nd best I've seen all year

[riczhang]

Hot fucking mess. That was just awful. And I can't believe that Oprah's in contention with that. WTF was that performance? It was heavy handed, sloppily executed, and melodramatic all around. And that score was just annoying. 

 

And the film's nothing we haven't seen before, and I don't like how it's cranked the melodrama to 11 all to get an emotional reaction, payoff, and oomph. Disgusting. Let the story stand by itself, especially if its dealing with that area of history that's more sensitive. Kinda like most Holocaust films out there, meandering through its 2 hour lifetime making a hackneyed point without much other purpose to it. Let the subject matter stand for itself. Tell the story like it is and the emotional payoff will come, there is no need to compensate for it. There is a time and place for contrived melodrama, but this time, just tell the story like it is, from the start. If you really care about the film, the story, and the subject matter, no matter how detached and objective you tell the story, that labour of love will show on screen and it'll resonate. Quietly, with dignity. Something that is so valued but so rare in film. 

[Deep Wang]

The only interesting thing about his life, was that he was a White House butler and served a number of presidents.  His biggest struggles were early in his life and they blew right past that.

 

His son had what seemed like an incredible life and I wanted to see more about what he was doing that his dad.

[Dilusha Bandara]

A good movie. But not flawless. Great to see Whitaker again in another great role.(7.8/10)

[baumer]

One of my favourites of the year.  I don't have the energy to write a full review of it right now but this is a film about the civil rights movement and it covers pretty much every major civil rights event that shaped America.  More tomorrow.

 

9.5/10

[Deep Wang]

I really wish they just cast unknowns to play all the presidents. I was taken straight out of the film every single time. It was very distracting.

[Gopher]

It's interspersed with interesting moments and performances (Wittaker and Oyelowo are the standouts, and Oprah is surprisingly restrained) but it never feels like a cohesive film. It goes on and on rattling off significant moments in American civil rights history when the most effective moment in the whole film is three minutes in. I know it's going for a Forrest Gump-ish trek through the 20th century in the eyes of one guy, and I admire the film's ambition, but the script just isn't strong enough to give the movie a sense of pacing or urgency. Often it just kind of sits there until a new famous actor cameos as the president. 

 

Give me a Freedom Riders biopic or a Black Panthers biopic or even an MLK biopic (which we haven't gotten yet for some reason). Something more urgent and specific. 

[RobinHood26]

The movie is one of those thats tries to hide the fact its a poorly directed film because the story its self is so great and inspiring.

 

It really has no idea what it wants to be and what it want to focus on, the movie kind of just kept going and going, the movie easily could have been cut 15 minutes or so. 

 

Also no creativity what so ever, it was boringest shot movie, the Cinematography was so standard, nothing captivating at all.

 

C+

[mattmav45]

It's interspersed with interesting moments and performances (Wittaker and Oyelowo are the standouts, and Oprah is surprisingly restrained) but it never feels like a cohesive film. It goes on and on rattling off significant moments in American civil rights history when the most effective moment in the whole film is three minutes in. I know it's going for a Forrest Gump-ish trek through the 20th century in the eyes of one guy, and I admire the film's ambition, but the script just isn't strong enough to give the movie a sense of pacing or urgency. Often it just kind of sits there until a new famous actor cameos as the president. Give me a Freedom Riders biopic or a Black Panthers biopic or even an MLK biopic (which we haven't gotten yet for some reason). Something more urgent and specific.

So is it the Oscar Bait middle class film of 2013?IMO.

[Deep Wang]

So is it the Oscar Bait middle class film of 2013?IMO.

 

Ugh, I hope this doesn't get any oscars.

[Gopher]

So is it the Oscar Bait middle class film of 2013?IMO.

 

This Onion video pretty much sums it up: 

 

[Dilusha Bandara]

The movie is one of those thats tries to hide the fact its a poorly directed film because the story its self is so great and inspiring.

 

It really has no idea what it wants to be and what it want to focus on, the movie kind of just kept going and going, the movie easily could have been cut 15 minutes or so. 

 

Also no creativity what so ever, it was boringest shot movie, the Cinematography was so standard, nothing captivating at all.

 

C+

But  Whitaker was captivating at least.

[Shawn Robbins]

Don't usually write up official reviews anymore, but I promised Baumer I'd share some thoughts on this.

 

My reflection on The Butler is very two-sided. Dramatically, the film hit all the right notes. Whitaker, Oyelowo, and Winfrey drive the emotional narrative to a point where I can easily say their stories moved me. All three deserve Oscar consideration.

 

The diner scene still stands out as one of my favorites for the sheer discomfort it evoked. I can't imagine how hard of a scene that must have been to shoot.

 

As for the ensemble, I enjoyed Marsden's take on JFK as well as Schreiber's LBJ (the toilet scene had me in stitches). To be honest, however, Cusack's Nixon was a complete miss for me. I thought it was initially because Frank Langella's portrayal of him in Frost/Nixon is just too near in my memory still, but after letting it set for a few days I don't think that's it. I'm not sure if it was his, the casting director's, or Daniels' decisions for the character, but I just saw John Cusack wearing a fake nose. And I say that as a big Cusack fan. He just seemed out of place to me but thankfully it didn't take me out of the movie for long since he had little screen time.

 

The only major drawback of the film for me was the decision to make it political. And yes, in my humble opinion, they went down that road in the final act with some revisionist history-- mainly relating to Reagan. There were a few moments earlier in the film where I suspected some historical liberties being taken as well (always happens), but the final scenes were the most egregious as they played at a somewhat obvious agenda. That's not a knock on Alan Rickman by any means, though--he looked and sounded very close to the real deal. The content of his scenes and the implication of the dinner scene at the end simply didn't jive, though.

 

That being said, it's a testament to the cast's performances that I was still emotionally involved during the final scenes. Solid flick despite all its flaws. B+ / A- (leaning toward the former)

[Kvikk Lunsj]

It is okay film. The film would be lost with out its performance which really sold this movie. The three main actors  (Whitaker, Oyelowo, and Winfery) sell the movie and make it watchable .  There are some problems with the screenplay and the direction that hold this film back. With a better screenplay this movie could have been something special

 

B

[Lordmandeep]

I watched the film and it was a more of a feel good film. Liberties were taken to make the story more dramatic and such.

 

 

but the way they showed the Presidents was soo biased it really made me dislike the film in the end. .

 

Reagan as a bumbling buffon and Racist ? Wtf man..

In reality they both got along quite well...

 

Why do Hollywood films have to resort to such things?

 

I know there has to be a dramatic ending to a film even though it did not actually happen.

 

For example the car chasing the airplane in the end of Argo.

Edited August 28, 2013 by Lordmandeep

[RobinHood26]

I thought they made Reagan look pretty good.

[The Futurist]

I watched the film and it was a more of a feel good film. Liberties were taken to make the story more dramatic and such.

 

 

but the way they showed the Presidents was soo biased it really made me dislike the film in the end. .

 

Reagan as a bumbling buffon and Racist ? Wtf man..

In reality they both got along quite well...

 

Why do Hollywood films have to resort to such things?

 

I know there has to be a dramatic ending to a film even though it did not actually happen.

 

For example the car chasing the airplane in the end of Argo.

 

Because movies are not reality ?

 

Haven't you heard by now ?

[Lordmandeep]

That is true if they made Argo the real version it would have a boring ending 

[CJohn]

Saw the movie today. The performances were fantastic. Really liked the cameos, it was fun to see so many familiar faces.