The Secret Life of Bees 2008
- Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Based on book by Sue Monk Kidd
- Cast: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keyes, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany, Hilarie Burton, Tristan Mack Wiles, Nate Parker
- Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
- Dakota Fanning – Once upon a Time in Hollywood, American Pastoral, Effie Gray, The Runaways, The War of the Worlds, Nine Lives, Taken, I Am Sam
- Jennifer Hudson – Cats, Dreamgirls
- Queen Latifah – Stranger than Fiction, Chicago, Sphere, Jungle Fever
- Sophie Okonedo – The Hollow Crown, Undercover, The Slap, Doctor Who, Skin, Hotel Rwanda, Dirty Pretty Things, Go Now
- Paul Bettany – Mortdecai, Transcendence, The Tourist, Creation, Young Victoria, Dogville, A Beautiful Mind, A Knight’s Tale
- Tristan Mack Wiles – The Wire, Half-Nelson
- Nate Parker – The Great Debaters
- Why? Sophie Okonedo
- Seen: 27 September 2022
In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed
in the US.
Fourteen-year-old Lily (Fanning) lives
with her sullen and abusive father T-Ray (Bettany). Her mother died in a
shooting accident, with Lily holding the gun, when she was four. Lily’s only
friend is the housekeeper Rosaleen (Hudson). On their way to town so Rosaleen
can register to vote, they are attacked by white men.
Tired of her father’s abuse, Lily runs
away after busting Rosaleen out of jail. They end up with the three Boatwright
sisters. August (Latifah) runs the honey making business, June (Keyes) is a
musician and May (Okoneda) is a sweet girl still suffering from the trauma of
losing her twin April as a child.
Don’t expect social realism or radical
politics here. It’s more of a fairy tale. It could have been cloying, but the
good acting, especially by Fanning and Okoneda, carry the film well.
3 ½ * of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment