Lee Daniels' The Butler stars Forest Whitaker as White House Butler Cecil Gaines. Gaines grew up in the 1920's as a sharecropper and is offered a position as butler in the White House in the 1950's. A model of professionalism and discretion, Gaines' career spanned several decades allowing him to serve under several Presidents, witness the effects of the American Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and other significant events in the history of the United States. While America struggles with these issues, Cecil struggles at home with family issues. His wife Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) battles her addictions and his son Louis (David Oyelowo) defiantly strives to find justice in the world.
The Butler is a look at some hard but formative years in the shaping of the United States from the 1950's to the 1980's. Running at over two hours long, not a lot of action seems to drive this movie, but rather it's a look at American history through the eyes of this humble butler. When done right, these are the types of movies that become Oscar Nominated films. When done wrong, these movies drag on and on and the viewer is begging for the end credits to roll. Oscar-winning movies Argo and Lincoln are two such movies. Both are a look into a specific time in history and both were gripping stories which brilliant character portrayals and superb dialogue that didn't need explosive action to keep the film moving. And if anyone can pull off the demands of a movie like this, it would be Oscar-Winner (The Last King of Scotland, 2007) Forest Whitaker.
I predict The Butler will be a moving and epic story of America's History as told by White House butler Gaines. I predict tears and cheers with solid and Oscar-worthy performances from the cast. Look for this movie to not only rake it in at the box office, but to at least be nominated for several Academy Awards. I predict a 4.0 rating, well worth the money and likely to make my DVD collection. Am I right? We shall see.
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