There are 3 reasons to see this movie: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. At an award ceremony Meryl Streep said, "Give this woman a movie," referring
to Viola Davis. This is the movie and, as of now, Viola Davis is the
front runner for the Oscar for giving the best actress's performance and Octavia Spencer
is a lock for best supporting performance. The one who goes through the
greatest arc, growing with each scene, is Jessica Chastain.

The
three women are backed by a strong cast of supporting characters in a
story that is full of cliches and, pardon the pun, every one is black
and white. The villain is the same white, rich, snob, played by Bryce
Dallas Howard, that has appeared in every Southern story that has come
out of Hollywood. Emma Stone, plays Skeeter, a would be writer who has a
mother, Allison Janney, with her own secret. Along the way we meet Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen,
a cameo by Cicely Tyson and some of the nondescript Southern men,
including a love interest for Stone that just adds wasteful time to the
main story.

The basic
story is a look at, a history of, how the housekeepers and women, all
black, took care of the white houses, white women and white children in
the days before civil rights, in places like Jackson, Mississippi.

The
film with a screenplay by Tate Taylor, who also directed the film and
is a life long friend of the author of the best selling book the film is
based on, evokes the times with shiny sparkling vintage cars, continuous
smoking, hairdos of the era, all production values first rate. He knows
how to get his talented cast to hit the tear ducts of the audience but
he really brings nothing new to the history of the 'war' between the two
races through story or camera.

"The Help" is definitely a movie to see for the performances especially by Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chasten.