My family and I finally got round to watching The Butler the other night, and what a fine film it is.
Forest Whitaker gives an astounding performance as Cecil Gaines, a young boy who grows up on a cotton field and one day ends up being a butler at the White House.
His story takes us through many US Presidents during the Civil Rights Movement, with a nod towards Martin Luther King Jr, the KKK and Malcolm X to name a few in history.
His son Louis, played by David Oyelowo (who I simply cannot fault), becomes part of the Civil Rights Movement and joins in with sit-ins during his time at university, eventually becoming one of the founders of the Black Panthers.
It is moving and gives a very credible and memorable insight into what black people had to go through in the struggle for equality.
The only downside would be the random actors chosen to play the Presidents, such as Robin Williams as Eisenhower and Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan. But perhaps the most random is Corny Collins off of Hairspray as JFK. For such a vital character and President, there should have been more thought gone into his performance.
This film will sit nicely in my collection of The Colour Purple, The Help and 12 Years A Slave.
Reasons why... 