"THE BUTLER"

On Monday evening we saw the movie The Butler (more correctly titled Lee Daniels' The Butler, due to some copyright debacle). The movie is another on the same wavelength as The Help and 42. The Help told the story of female African American domestic workers struggling against invidious segregation in the USA during the 1950s and 60s; 42 focused on an African American baseball player and his eventual rise to fame during a similar period. The Butler, as its title implies, shows us the view of similar times, but from the perspective of an African American butler in the White House. This film, like 42, is based on a true story, the life of Eugene Allen who served at the White House under eight US presidents from Truman to Reagan.


In the movie Forest Whitaker plays the fictional part of Cecil Gaines reflecting real life experiences of Eugene Allen (excellent performance it is too). We follow his life story from childhood on a cotton plantation, where he witnesses the murder of his father after his mother (played by Mariah Carey) is raped by the plantation overseer. Matriarch of the plantation (played by Vanessa Redgrave) takes pity on the bereft child, makes him a house servant, inducts him into the ways of house servants - along the lines of: The room should feel empty when you're in it.

After several years as house servant the young Gaines moves on, obtains work as a hotel steward, is further groomed, in the high arts of obsequiousness and attention to the smallest detail, by an old hand at the job. After some further years of polishing his skills Cecil is noticed and later head-hunted by a White House official.

The movie up to this point was done very well, I thought. It brought back memories of that wonderful mini-series Roots. I wasn't quite as impressed by the next section of the film, but was very interested to see how it unfolded.

We stagger uncertainly along with Cecil's first nervous steps in what would be an overwhelming experience for any of us, in any circumstance. One of the first things he's instructed by the head butler, and the first laugh of the movie for me and Himself:"We don't have politics in the White House". Cecil soon gets into the White House groove, his past training serves him well. We see him interact with a succession of presidents starting with Eisenhower (would you believe Robin Williams?), JFK (James Marsden who seemed way too petite for JFK - there must be actors more like him surely?) Jackie and Caroline Kennedy, LBJ (Liev Schreiber), Richard Nixon (good if cartoonish turn by John Cusack), and Reagan (interesting effort by Alan Rickman who couldn't keep that wicked twinkle from his eye), with Nancy played, to the chagrin of many commenters, by "Hanoi" Jane Fonda, I thought she seemed just right for the part, albeit maybe a tad too tall.

Along with the expected focus on highlights and lowlights of the several presidencies the film follows Cecil's home life, and regained its former quality in my eyes. He married Gloria (Oprah Winfrey -blogger muffles a groan) and has two sons, Louis (David Oyelowo ) and Charlie (Elijah Kelley). I'll not spoil the movie further for any passing reader who intends to see it by outlining the trials and tribulations linked to this part of Cecil's life. Enough to say that he faces heartache and dilemma vis–à–vis what is going on in the world outside the White House bubble in which he spends most of his waking hours. I'd best say also that, in spite of my strange intolerance for Ms Winfrey she did put in a very good performance.

The reason I wasn't as impressed with the White House section of the movie was its swing into almost cartoon mode at times. The film went from darkly serious, almost painfully so, to verging on farce. False noses, not even well-done false noses, LBJ sitting on the lavatory, JFK looking like a diminutive Tony Blair, Reagan - well...Rickman - need I say more? Now, I'm quite open to ridiculing presidents - most have deserved it at some point, but here it just seemed out of sync with the earlier tone of this movie and many of the later scenes. Cecil seemed to have genuine affection for at least some of the presidents. He wore a tie of JFK, given to him by Jackie, and the tie clip given to him by LBJ, to go to the White House to meet the new President Obama - this was after Cecil's retirement of course.

At this point I'll have a quick grumble.

As the movie ended, Cecil his family and friends were, naturally, overjoyed at the election of Barack Obama to the presidency. We watch them celebrate. At the time, in 2008, I celebrated too, I wept too. But ye gods, I'm angry now! Look what happened. Obama let them down. He let his people down. He let everyone who voted for him down.

"Enough"....I clearly remember newly elected Prez Obama saying that word. We should all echo it back to him....ENOUGH!