| Flicks

Flicks: The Help & The Names of Love

Posted on 18 August 2011 by LeslieM

By Dave Montalbano

While attending a Family Reunion in Alabama, circa 1969, my dad made a point of introducing Annie Laurie to me. Annie Laurie was the Watson family cook for many decades.

My mom, aunt and 10 uncles kept in touch with Annie Laurie until she died a few years back. It is nice to know that my family treated Annie Laurie with more respect than the Southern Belles treat The Help in this movie based on Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling book.

Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone) returns from college and lands a job with the local newspaper, writing a “Dear Abby” column about household chores. Being a Dixie princess, Skeeter seeks advice from a friend’s help, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis). Reluctant at first, Aibileen helps Skeeter with her column.

As Skeeter gains Aibileen’s trust, the young lady learns much about the subculture of The Help, black ladies who raise white women’s children. From cooking tasty food to changing diapers, these maids of Mississippi are the pillar of southern hospitality. Yet, in a culture where people are considered equal, but separate, the help are not allowed to use their employers’ bathrooms.

It is life’s details that plant the seeds of historical evolution. Ticket buyers witness the 1960s civil rights struggle of their neighbors. Director Tate Taylor takes Kathryn Stockett’s words and creates an entertaining motion picture with subtle depth.

Already, there is “Oscar” buzz about The Help. The SAG Awards will likely nominate The Help for Best Ensemble acting. 1970s veterans Sissy Spacek, Cicely Tyson and Mary Steenburgen sink their teeth into their small, but pivotal character roles, while Stone and Davis move the narrative along. Octavia Spencer will be remembered as the breakout star from this film.

Opening tomorrow is The Names of Love, a French romantic comedy that finds humor in religion, sex and politics.

Sara Forestier portrays Baya, an Algerian Arab hippie chick with leftist politics who is attracted to Arthur Martin (Jacques Gamblin) a straight-laced Jew whose parents are Holocaust survivors.

Taking a cue from Woody Allen movies, this film tackles dark themes with humor and has belly laughs involving social faux pas and Parisian nudity. Sara Forestier is a force to be reckoned with. She will next be seen in the U.S. as French pop star France Gall in Joann Sfar’s “Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.”

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