Powerful book, cute movie...but something is lost in translation
As it always goes, there were many parts of the book that were cut out for the movie. That didn’t surprise me any, as the book was quite long and had a lot of back-story. To try and get in as much detail as possible they tried to fit multiple threads into one scene when they really happened here and there throughout the book. This is something that only the readers would catch however, and doesn’t affect the overarching story of the film.
I liked the casting of the characters very much! I wasn’t so sure about Emma Stone at first, as it was not how I imagined Skeeter in my head, but she did such a great job of being different than all the other girls and a bit unsure of herself. Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis were fan-fucking-tastic! They embodied everything I imagined the characters to be. No way anyone could have done a better job. The only character I didn’t think translated well was Celia Foote. I found her to be too giggly and not pathetic enough to really be a perfect choice.
I think my biggest gripe with the movie is that it has far too happy of a feeling to it. There are many scenes that happen between Skeeter (the white woman helping to write the maids’ lives) and the help outside…in public…with many witnesses to hear them talking about things that would get them arrested and possibly worse. I felt like the tension is completely missing in the transition from the book to the film. Nothing felt secret enough, or threatening enough like it did in the book. They also change many of the characters to seem like they aren’t as villainous as they were in the novel. Most of them seem to be just keeping their eyes averted to the racism that surrounds them rather than being the perpetrators. The movie also portrays Skeeter’s mother as someone who loves and supports her daughter in her rebellion when she really is just blasé about most things in the book other than how big of a disappointment her daughter is.
Overall, the storyline is there and it’s a decent film…if you like happy endings. I wasn’t disappointed by the movie, but I think it truly lacked all the grit and suspense that I fell in love with in the book.