The basic premise of The Butler sounds encouraging. It’s based on the life of a butler who worked in the White House through several presidential administrations during the rise of the civil rights movement. However, in practice it is rather dull. Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) exists in the background as Presidents debate whether to give black people the vote or help out in South Africa, but does very little himself, literally being a silent figure for much of the film’s runtime. His home life is slightly more interesting, from his wife (as played by Oprah Winfrey) who slowly descends into alcoholism and adultery, to his sons, one of whom heads off to fight in Vietnam while the other becomes directly involved in the civil rights campaign.
Thankfully, Forest Whitaker does know how to do a lot with limited material. During one scene where he is denied the same pay rate as other White House workers who just so happen to be white the pain and anger he feels is perfectly expressed through a simple look, no words are required. I have seen much praise for Oprah’s performance but saw little reason for her BAFTA nomination on display. She plays Gaines’ wife as a strong personality but doesn’t have any remarkable scenes to help her stand out, which isn’t helped by the fact that the character deals with everything by getting drunk for much of the film.
Despite focusing on a butler in the White House, because of the way the film flashes through the eras we never get a real sense of any of the Presidents on display, many of whom are reduced to a scene or two. Many of these Commanders In Chief are grossly miscast, the most glaring of which being John Cusack in a laughable portrayal of Richard Nixon, which comes across as pure caricature. For a film about civil rights its portrayal of Lyndon Johnson (Liev Schreiber), the man who helped push though the most important Civil Rights laws on the 60s, which gave all races the vote, is quite bizarre.
One of his very few scenes sees him giving official orders while sitting on the toilet, which feels like something out of a bad Wayans Brothers parody. His entire character is demeaning and offensive. And then there’s Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, which is just the most bizarre thing I have ever seen. James Marsden as JFK is probably the best portrayal we get of a President throughout the film, Marsden portrays him as a compassionate individual and handles his speech patterns without descending into mockery. It honestly appears that many of the actors were cast because of their status as opposed to how effectively they could portray the historical figures, and the film is damaged by this miscalculation.
The film also takes quite a few liberties with its history. Reagan is portrayed as not caring about Civil Rights and unwilling to associate with the black staff in the White House, despite this being untrue. His decision to not intervene in South Africa is used here to present him almost as a villainous figure, when in fact he feared that if the current regime was overthrown that a communist regime would take its place.
Also, despite claiming to be based on a true story, the life of Cecil Gaines has very little in common with that of Eugene Allen, the real butler who inspired the story. His son wasn’t a radical political figure nor was his wife a drunken mess. In one of the strangest proclamations I have ever heard towards the end of the film, Gaines’ narration compares America to a concentration camp, suggesting that what Americans did to African Americans was worse than what the Nazis did to Jews.
The special features include a making of ’ which doesn’t give much insight into the film, as well as the standard deleted scenes and a gag reel. The original Freedom Riders’ feature attempts to acknowledge the real life events but doesn’t really provide any new information. There’s also a music video from Lenny Kravitz that has no reason to be on the disc at all, maybe it was part of his contractual requirement for appearing in the film.
Overall Verdict: A historically inaccurate mess of a film showing the Civil Rights era through the eyes of an bland character. A movie that has very little reason to exist, let alone be viewed by anyone.
Special Features:
Making of
Deleted scenes
The original Freedom Riders
“You and I Music Video
Gag reel
Reviewer: Matt Mallinson