I would agree with some critics who say that certain characters were miscast in this film, from John Cusack as Richard Nixon, to Liev Schreiber as Lyndon Johnson to Robin Williams as Dwight Eisenhower, however given their very limited roles in this movie I'm not sure it's entirely justified. I would say the same about Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan and Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan. (a part that barely gets more than two minutes in the entire movie)
The storyline is elegant and I believe quite well-told and let's be fair in saying that only so much history over 25 years can be told in a two hour movie with any serious depth given the nature of the topic behind it.
So to be clear here it is. This movie is political but in a way that transcends whether you are Democrat or Republican. It addresses the fundamental issue of civil rights in the United States since the late 1950's when Eisenhower was reluctant to use federal troops to intervene in Arkansas to integrate racially segregated schooling to Ronald Reagan's opposition to a U.S. position opposing apartheid in South Africa in the early 1980's. Therefore the movie has racial undertones and in this 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and JFK's assassination we shouldn't be surprised by films that attempt to highlight injustices that took place during this period of U.S. history. Yes, there may be more a glorification of Democratic president's Kennedy and Johnson, but let's also be clear they were the only president's since Lincoln and Grant that dared to challenge the status quo in a serious way since Reconstruction, even if it was for expedient purposes.
As such it's no coincidence that Whitaker's character wears JFK's tie and LBJ's tie clasp upon his meeting Barack Obama at the film's end. It's fitting and appropriate, and above all else this movie forces you to think about certain issues that are all too easily forgotten, even in this day and age.
Yes, 'The Butler' might resemble 'Forrest Gump' in many ways but where it excels over the former is making a statement about American history and society that far too many choose to ignore or minimize in importance.
The storyline is elegant and I believe quite well-told and let's be fair in saying that only so much history over 25 years can be told in a two hour movie with any serious depth given the nature of the topic behind it.
So to be clear here it is. This movie is political but in a way that transcends whether you are Democrat or Republican. It addresses the fundamental issue of civil rights in the United States since the late 1950's when Eisenhower was reluctant to use federal troops to intervene in Arkansas to integrate racially segregated schooling to Ronald Reagan's opposition to a U.S. position opposing apartheid in South Africa in the early 1980's. Therefore the movie has racial undertones and in this 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and JFK's assassination we shouldn't be surprised by films that attempt to highlight injustices that took place during this period of U.S. history. Yes, there may be more a glorification of Democratic president's Kennedy and Johnson, but let's also be clear they were the only president's since Lincoln and Grant that dared to challenge the status quo in a serious way since Reconstruction, even if it was for expedient purposes.
As such it's no coincidence that Whitaker's character wears JFK's tie and LBJ's tie clasp upon his meeting Barack Obama at the film's end. It's fitting and appropriate, and above all else this movie forces you to think about certain issues that are all too easily forgotten, even in this day and age.
Yes, 'The Butler' might resemble 'Forrest Gump' in many ways but where it excels over the former is making a statement about American history and society that far too many choose to ignore or minimize in importance.