The Help - A Review

Left to right: Skeeter Phelan, Minny Jackson, Aibileen Clark

Layers. That is the first thing I think of with this film. There are just so many layers to this film that I don't even know where to start with it. It's one of those films that you can't really forget because of how thought-provoking and spectacular it is. There are so many memorable scenes. The original book by Kathryn Stockett is just as poignant. I just hope I can do this film justice with my analysis.

Aibileen and Mae Mobley

One of the most iconic lines in this film is a lesson Aibileen, played by Viola Davis, imparts onto the child she looks after: "You is kind, you is smart, you is important." These words are repeated throughout the film, and she makes sure to say it with Mae Mobley. Given that this film is set in the early 1960s, the values of the 1950s are still running high among the women of this film. Aibileen tries to subvert these values by teaching Mae Mobley that her worth doesn't come from her appearance, but from the way she treats people and her own merits. Today, this is considered the norm; 60 years ago, it was considered progressive and possibly even dangerous. Women were still taught that their worth came from how they looked, and how soon they got married and had children. Intelligence and inherent dignity wasn't enough. Heck, intelligence wasn't even that important.

One of the main characters, Skeeter, goes through this particular issue. Out of her friends within her social circle, she is the most compassionate to others, regardless of skin colour. This is probably because she was extremely close to her own maid, Constantine. I think there was supposed to be a parallel here between Skeeter and Mae Mobley. Considering Constantine attended the same church as Aibileen, and their work likely meant they would have met up occasionally, it is likely they used the same techniques on those they looked after. Constantine is seen in a flashback talking to a teenaged Skeeter about how beauty isn't an outward thing: "I wish you would quit feeling sorry for your self. Now, that's ugly. Ugly is something that grows up inside you. It's mean and hurtful, like them boys." Because Skeeter wasn't a stereotypical beauty, she stands out compared to the women of her social group, who sport the latest hair styles and fashions. Constantine's words echo Aibileen's, and it's quite heart-warming to watch.

Left to right: Hilly Holbrook, Mrs Walters, Minny Jackson

Social status is everything to women of this time. The film makes that very clear. Just the image above makes it obvious. Hilly Holbrook, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, is shown as the leader. Her ailing mother with mental health deterioration is behind her, and apparently not even worth properly looking after besides taking her in (probably for appearances' sake). Right behind is Minny, Mrs Walters' maid, the bottom of the social ladder. I remember studying social rankings in GCSE English when I read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Our class classified the various characters according to where they would rank on a social ladder. This scene made me think of that: the white able-bodied person would be at the top, while the black person - regardless of gender and ability - would be at the bottom. Quite the impressive line-up, really.

Minny with Celia Foote

Social status doesn't necessarily mean "poor vs rich." In Celia's case, she lives a glamorous life in a grand house on a plantation. However, she is shunned from Hilly's social group for two reasons: she doesn't have the same mentality as the group, and Hilly believed Celia stole her now-husband, Johnny, from Hilly. The latter allowed Hilly to spread gossip about Celia so that Hilly's social group wouldn't want to associate themselves with her, thus losing a social reputation. The former means that she will always be out of step even if she were allowed to socialise with them. This is quite similar to Skeeter, who shares similar views, but was kept in the group since she grew up with the rest of the women; we see her being slowly losing her status with the group because of her compassionate views. However, Celia only hires Minny because she needs help cleaning and cooking, not because it's social convention; she treats Minny as an equal, rather than beneath her. Minny even finds it bizarre that Celia would even try to sit at the same table as her. One of my favourite scenes with Celia is towards the end when Johnny discovers Minny had been working there for a while in secret. Celia prepares a whole dinner with everything Minny taught her as a means of thanking her for everything she did, something Hilly would never "condescend" to do. Johnny tells Minny that she "has a job there for the rest of [her] life, if [she] wants it." That little addition at the end makes a huge difference. Not only does Minny get job security for her whole life, she has the choice to decide whether she wants to continue working there or not at every point.

Minny exposes her chocolate pie to Hilly

I saved this one for last. The most iconic scene in the film. It doesn't even have a concrete historical element in it, but I just love it so much and it's so well-known that I can't not write about this film and not mention it. For a bit of context, Hilly has managed to pass an initiative in her town so that African-American people have to use different bathrooms to their employers, and it must be the new one that is set up specifically for them. However, there came a point where a hurricane went through Mississippi, and Minny was forced to decide between using the indoor toilet or her own outside the house. While Mrs Walters tells her to use the one inside, Hilly fires her for using her toilet. Minny gets her revenge by baking her signature chocolate pie, and serves it to Hilly, subtly hinting to her after that she put her own excrement into it. One might wonder whether she really did put it into the pie because if she did, wouldn't Hilly have noticed? I suspect she actually didn't do it, but made it seem as though she did. This wasn't just a simple prank either. Minny was particularly clever about this. She knew that she wouldn't get into trouble with the law over it because Hilly valued her social reputation above everything else. If Hilly told the police what happened, she would risk this information being known to those who know her, and she would forever be a source of ridicule. Of course, Minny uses this to her advantage. While Skeeter writes a compilation of stories from African-American maids, Minny insists the story be added to the book. As it would be completely anonymous, and the names would be changed, they would not be at any risk. Furthermore, Hilly would have to constantly deny the story was about their town because to give it any credibility would endanger her reputation. This was extremely clever, and I just loved how well-manipulated it was.

There are so many elements to this film that I could go on and on about it, but the post would be so long. I love the nuances behind each character, behind the key scenes. There's always a lesson to be learnt with the characters. Everything was just thought out so well.