Lee Daniel's The Butler movie review

Every now and again you get to see a movie that has everything. Lee Daniel's The Butler is it. It contains everything, education, emotion, plus great acting. This is the movie of the year. The cast was phenomenal.  Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gains the Butler, whose life we follow is his usual superb self. Oprah Winfrey, who you forget is Oprah, as she becomes Gloria Gaines Cecil's wife. She portrays the different stages and what she as a wife of a Butler in the White House, plus raising two sons goes through. 

David Banner who plays son Earl, who joins the freedom rides and even the Black Panthers is also great. Then comes the actors who play the Presidents, John Cuscak as Richard Nixon, Robin Williams as a great Dwight D Eisenhower, James Marsden as John F Kennedy, Liev Schreiber  does a great job as Lyndon B Johnson and Alan Rickman makes a wonderful Ronald Regan. They were all great selections for their roles.  You learn a lot about the Presidents and the affect having Black Butlers played in their awareness of equality.

In fact the whole cast was so well cast that there was not one person you thought, wow, this is miscast, in fact, for the over 2 hour movie, you hardly recognize the time. The movie moves through the years, with ease, and with each character being so well played, you get caught up in the story quickly as it touches you emotionally, and you go for the ride. At the end, I found my self sitting there digesting it all. Let us hope we do not forget what people went through in order to have equality - even though in some ways it still on going.

I'm sure you have heard the story line, of how this share croppers son, who is taken in and trained to be a 'house nigger' ends up as a Butler in the White House. As you follow this tale you begin to identify with the 'struggle' as the White Staff of the white house receive 40% more monies than the Black staff. It appears it was Ronald Reagan who changed that so they all received the same.

Also through the movie comments were made by the Presidents which showed that having  Black Butlers, whom they trusted and came to 'know', did make a difference.  Nelsan Ellis who plays Martin Luther King, Jr. makes a statement during the movie of not to demean the Black Help, but due to their work ethic (can't remember it all, but it was another great statement during the movie) advising Earl, to recognize the contribution his father was doing.

There were so many wonderful moments, so many wonderful actors playing their parts that I can't possibly mention them all. All I can say, if you want to see a movie of the year, then go see this one.
5 out of 5.