The plight of the black American has been long, hard, and rough. Our history has been a painful one; our present is painful yet less daunting than our past, and our future, although still troublesome, is hopeful, at least to me it is. The movie, The Butler, gives 2 different perspectives of black history. Based on a true story, one view is that of Cecil Gains, a butler to 8 different presidents in the White House, and the second is that of his son, Louis Gaines. Louis is a young man who goes from being a Freedom Rider to a Black Panther to a Congressional contender.
Cecil Gaines is played magnificently by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, and Louis Gaines is played by David Oyelowo. Cecil's wife is played by Oprah Winfrey who, despite my reservation, did a fantastic job. She is a loving mother, a cheating wife, and a rough and tough drunk. I've heard that she may get an Academy nomination, and I'd be ok with that as long as Forest does too. There are other huge names in this move who play their roles fantastically: Robin Williams as Eisenhower, Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan, Liev Schreiber as Johnson, John Cusack as Nixon as well as Cuba Gooding Jr, Mariah Carey who does ugly very well, Terrence Howard, and Lenny oh-so-sexy Kravitz just to name a few.
Lee Daniels, the director, does an excellent job of showing how a black man brought up in a cotton field in Georgia sees America versus one who was raised in the suburbs of DC. Cecil was just trying to make a better life for his family by working hard with pride and elegance. Louis was trying to make a better country for all black people through sit-ins and protests. He spends countless nights in jail with other Freedom Riders and Black Panthers including his on-again off-again girlfriend played by Yaya DaCosta from America's Next Top Model. She makes a fantastic transformation. At one point, she serves Angela Davis realness to the point of forgetting who she truly is.
I was deeply moved by Forest Whitaker's portrayal of Cecil Gaines; his devotion to his job and his family. I was vividly reminded of the struggle, the pain, the dedication those young people went through for black Americans like me to be treated equally and fairly. The Butler is a great movie giving you two different ways of seeing a tough time for a tough group of people. Good job Lee Daniels, Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Louis Gaines, and Cecil Gaines.
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