I’m one of the few people that has yet to read “The Help,” the bestselling novel by Kathryn Stockett, but I think I’d better move it to the top of my to-read list. The trailer for the film adaptation recently hit the Web, and it looks like rising star Emma Stone is about to have another hit on her hands.
Set in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, “The Help” follows four very different women and the roles they play in the changing times. Skeeter Phelan (Stone) and Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) are two southern society girls with very different outlooks on civil rights. Hilly is a fervent supporter of segregation, and Skeeter is a budding writer eager to give the local black housekeepers a voice.
Skeeter says she wants to write a book from the perspective of “the help,” an idea that is first met with hesitance from those she’s keen to interview. But when steadfast housekeeper Aibileen (Viola Davis) opens up to Skeeter, others gradually come forward with their own stories, including feisty Minny (Octavia Spencer). And when Skeeter publishes the housekeepers’ honest accounts of what it’s like to care for wealthy white families, it throws the town’s whole dynamic out of whack.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about the book, and I think this trailer looks very promising – funny, heartwarming and poignant. Stone has been a breakout star in comedy, and “The Help” looks like a good departure to prove she’s more than just a funny girl. Davis, Spencer and Howard seem perfectly cast, not to mention the film boasts strong supporting players like Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek and Cicely Tyson.
“The Help” hits theaters Aug. 12. Check out the trailer below.
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Never read the book either, but the cast is phenomenal and it looks inspiring, worth a look when it hits theaters.