Der Butler (2013)
51KDer Butler: Directed by Lee Daniels. With Forest Whitaker, David Banner, Michael Rainey Jr., LaJessie Smith. As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man’s life, family, and American society.
“The Butler (Daniels, 2013, B+) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis should have been a punchline. At least, thatu0026#39;s what I was walking in expecting. From the overblown marketing to the downright bizarre cast, it had all the trimmings of a pure turkey. Hereu0026#39;s the thing, though… Itu0026#39;s not. The film is not a facsimile of historical events, it is an invigoration of them and despite the relatively classical style on display, Lee Daniels brings a real brio to the proceedings. It helps that he has Whitaker to make it all stick as the filmu0026#39;s unfailingly warm and engaging center. Even in the first 20-30 minutes when the film is struggling to find its legs, his performance is an unmannered beauty. The rest of the actors are also galvanized into action, proving that verisimilitude is not the highest criteria for historical fiction. This is a film as powerful, as beautiful, as unlikely, and as raggedly imperfect as the country it chronicles.”
