The Help, starring Emma Stone and Viola Davis

If it's possible to have a triple edged sword then Tate Taylor has just stuck himself with one for his first major directorial effort. Adapting a beloved novel like The Help is arduous enough, but throw in the fact that the author Kathryn Stockett is a personal friend and it gets even tougher. But it's in navigating the racial minefield that is Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s that Taylor could possibly be setting himself up to fail, as many films tackling the era of the Jim Crow south tend to make the same mistakes over and over again, and that is characterizing both sides of the issue in plain black and white, thus rendering the characters trite and one-note. Taylor, who also penned the script, has taken the brightest elements of Stockett's novel, which are the full flowing lively characters within, and transported them to the big screen in all their deserved glory.

Emma Stone proves yet again she is an unnatural talent, starring as the free thinking Skeeter, a newbie journalist who grew up in the quietly racist southern fried town of Jackson. In Jackson, the familial structure of the upper class white society is bolstered by the unappreciated work of African-American servants. They raise their white children while the mothers go off to play Bridge and have gossipy lunches in the hot Mississippi sun. These black women become like mothers to these children, instilling in them the values their mothers can't take the time to impart themselves. Skeeter was raised by just such a woman(Cecily Tyson), and has more of a respect for them than her snotty, prejudiced peers. The worst of which is Hilly Holbrook(Bryce Dallas Howard), the stick in the butt ringleader of the town's gaggling social club of trophy wives. She's the type of tunnel visioned bigot who doesn't even realize she's a racist. It's so inbred in her through years of open practice that she thinks it just a natural part of Mississippi culture.

Disgusted by the actions of Hilly, and bolstered by curiosity over the disappearance of the woman who raised her, Skeeter makes the possibly dangerous decision to write a book focused on the racial powder keg that is Jackson, seen from the perspective of the African-American servants who see and hear all in secret, but are forbidden to ever speak about it. Finding someone to speak out proves to be difficult, until she's able to convince quiet, hard working Abileen Clark(Viola Davis) to share the town dirt. Abileen's been raising white children for decades, and with the sudden death of her own son, feels a new resolve to make his story known. It isn't long before others rise to the cause, emboldened by the risks Abileen is taking. The most vocal of which is her outspoken friend, Minny(Octavia Spencer), who has worked for practically every white family in town both because of her legendary cooking prowess, and her outspoken nature which keeps getting her fired.

The Help doesn't shy away from the harshness of the conditions these women had to work under, treated like slaves with the inability to move to other towns and maybe forge their own lives. The racism they face is in Jackson's bones, and not easily dispelled. These brave women are the unseen, listening to every detail through kitchen doors, or while cooking breakfast. They see and hear all, and have the power to bring their tormentors down if so provoked. The risks they're taking is fully appreciated in Taylor's script, and yet he still manages to keep the tone as light as possible when dealing with such issues. That's a delicate balancing act. Not everything works quite as well. There's a subplot involving Skeeter's love life that feels like it was cut short, although a few laughs are found in the way she's hounded about it by her smothering mother(Allison Janney).

Taylor also fortunate to have such a wealth of  talent at his disposal, but he also shows veteran chops by standing back and letting them do their thing. Emma Stone is as charismatic on screen as ever, even though this is very clearly not a film about her. She's playing clear second fiddle to the always excellent Viola Davis, always such a picture of strength and dignity in every film, she commands the screen here. Octavia Spencer is a ball of fiery justice as Minny, and has the bulk of the funniest lines with her sharp attitude. Bryce Dallas Howard makes the most of what could've been a very cliche villain role. Jessica Chastain(The Tree of Life) gives a welcome comedic turn as a white woman despised by her peers for reasons she can't quite fathom. Call it tribalism. 

What I was afraid of most is that The Help would devolve into what we affectionately refer to as "great white savior syndrome", where a minority simply can't get by without the aid of some guilt ridden Caucasian.  Fortunately that never happens here. There are lessons to be learned by everybody involved. All play a part in their own success or failings. The Help treats all of it's characters with the respect they deserve. One of the summer's best.

Trav's Tip: Octavia Spencer, Tate Taylor, and Kathryn Stockett are all long-time friends. So much so that Stockett based the Minny character in part on Spencer's personality.You can read more on their close-knit bond by checking out my interview with the cast of The Help here!