CYNICAL OWL REVIEWS, “LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER”
Last week the staff of The Cynical Owl was invited to an early screening of The Butler. “The Butler” is a look at the life of Cecil Gaines who served eight presidents as the White House’s head butler from 1952 to 1986, and had a unique front-row seat as political and racial history was made (IMDB).
To be honest, I’ve been following the film for awhile now and was on the fence about the premise. Were we going to get a reprised “Forrest Gump” or “Benjamin Button?” Even though what we saw was a rough cut of the film I was pleasantly surprised. The film had a lot of heart that was aptly portrayed through jarring visuals, incredible acting and amazing direction from Lee Daniels. If you are familiar with Lee’s work, you’ll be very shocked to see that this film veers from his typical formula. You can tell that it is very much a Lee Daniels production, but it’s different from anything he’s ever done. And it works. The film is threaded to feel more like an experience rather than a film, in that respect, it reminds me a little of “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” The visual and sound elements intertwine perfectly to capture Cecil as he moves from the Reconstruction era to present day.
I don’t want to give away too much nor do I want to point out too many cons seeing as the film is still being edited, but the pacing in the beginning and the end was very offbeat. The beginning was very choppy and the ending was dragging out. There are some scenes that aren’t necessarily needed as well as inserts that seem very odd, but I’m assuming this will be much smoother in the final cut.
In all, I highly recommend the film when it comes out this August. It is a tearjerker, but it’s a beautiful story.
Cynical Rating: 3.5/5