The Help (2011; PG-13; 145 minutes; Drama)
Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sissy Spacek, Cicely Tyson.
Directed by Tate Taylor.
Based on a #1 New York Times best-selling book by Kathryn Stockett, The Help takes place in racially divided Mississippi during the 1960s. Skeeter is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer but turns her friends' lives — and a small Mississippi town — upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen, Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up, to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter's lifelong friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories. As it turns out, they have a lot to say.
