Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)

As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Director:

Lee Daniels

Writers:

Danny Strong, Wil Haygood (article)

Stars:

Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 18 wins & 50 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Forest Whitaker	...	Cecil Gaines
David Banner	...	Earl Gaines
Michael Rainey Jr.	...	Cecil Gaines (8)
LaJessie Smith	...	Abraham
Mariah Carey	...	Hattie Pearl
Alex Pettyfer	...	Thomas Westfall
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Annabeth Westfall
Aml Ameen	...	Cecil Gaines (15)
Clarence Williams III	...	Maynard
John P. Fertitta	...	Mr. Jenkins (as John Fertitta)
Jim Gleason	...	R.D. Warner
Oprah Winfrey	...	Gloria Gaines
Isaac White	...	Charlie Gaines (10)
David Oyelowo	...	Louis Gaines
Joe Chrest	...	White Usher

Storyline

Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with her addictions and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.

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Plot Keywords:

butler | president | hotel | civil rights | domestic servant | 

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Taglines:

One quiet voice can ignite a revolution

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and disturbing images, language, sexual material, thematic elements and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lee Daniels' The Butler

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,637,312, 18 August 2013

Gross USA:

$116,632,095

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$176,598,908

Company Credits

Production Co:

Follow Through Productions, Salamander Pictures, Laura Ziskin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reunites Robin Williams and Forest Whitaker after 26 years. Their first appearance together was in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987).

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Goofs

When the Freedom Bus is attacked and burned by a white mob, it happens at night on a bridge. In real life, the attack took place in the afternoon near a convenience store.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cecil Gaines: The only thing I ever knew was cotton. It was hard work.

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Connections

References In the Heat of the Night (1967)

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Soundtracks

Bull Connor
Music by Tom Phillips
Courtesy of WGBH Boston

User Reviews

Ho-hum

A great and talented cast is largely thrown away on a script that starts and stops relentlessly. As one who has lived through all the historical periods portrayed, I was regrettably bored by large segments of the narrative, which seemed didactic in the extreme. That is not to diminish its important social and cultural significance to a younger audience, only that I personally found all the Presidents as played much smaller than in life than I remember them. Robin Williams as Eisenhower and Alan Rickman as Reagan seemed oddly miscast, though John Cusack as Nixon caught the essence of the man nicely. The parts showing home life among the main characters was a highlight, however.

In short, a good but not great film, perhaps better with fewer intrusive star-studded cameos and less overt moralizing.