When Kathryn Stockett’s moving novel The Help made its big-screen debut in 2011, it resonated with viewers, making the movie a huge success and garnering attention worldwide as it exposed the appalling racial inequality in Mississippi in the 1960s.The film follows the lives of three strong women, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), and Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone), in a world where differences in race and socioeconomic status shape interpersonal dynamics.
For example, Davis and Spencer both play African-American maids who selflessly serve white families by caring for and educating the children despite constant racism and subjection. On the other hand, Stone’s Skeeter is a young, white, aspiring journalist who is hellbent on bucking cultural norms. Skeeter’s audacious plan to record the maids’ stories gives voice to the voiceless and sheds light on the maids’ daily struggles with racism and injustice. The resulting book, supposedly authored by “the help,” causes a revolution in their sleepy hamlet, upending their lives and posing new challenges to the status quo.
Octavia Spencer’s Oscar for Best Supporting Actress is just one of the many honors the picture garnered. Fans of The Help will like this selection of 10 excellent films with fascinating plots exploring issues that push against societal standards, shed light on historical struggles, and impact the human spirit.
10. The Butler (2013)
The Butler, directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and written by Danny Strong, is based on Wil Haygood’s piece “A Butler Well Served by This Election” from the Washington Post. Forest Whitaker plays Cecil Gaines, an African-American who served as a White House butler for 34 years and witnessed significant political and social events of the 20th century. The film is loosely based on the life of Eugene Allen, who worked in the White House for decades.
Forest Whitaker gives a moving and understated portrayal of Cecil, a man who exemplifies modesty and discretion in a world rife with bigotry and abuse of power. Oprah Winfrey’s performance as Gaines’ larger-than-life wife, Gloria, is equally impressive. The Butler expertly juggles its two stories, which move back and forth between the White House and Gaines’ home life. This dynamic illustrates the contrast between the individual and the political, the served, and the server. Critics were generally positive, with some reservations about the film’s historical accuracy and its characterization of President Reagan.
9. Loving (2016)
Based on the landmark Supreme Court decision of 1967, Loving tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who fought to overturn Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws. Based on the documentary The Loving Story (2011) by Nancy Buirski, about the Lovings and their landmark case, the film is a biographical love drama directed and written by Jeff Nichols. Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga bring genuine emotion to their Richard and Mildred Loving portrayals. Richard, played by Edgerton, is a stoic and devoted husband who struggles to make sense of the complex legal and political disputes he and his wife are pushed into.
Meanwhile, Negga’s Mildred is a quiet force in their struggle for justice despite being a soft-spoken but stubborn woman. Their acting lends an air of quiet dignity and genuine feeling to this epic tale. The stillness of Loving and its emphasis on the Lovings as regular individuals rather than symbols of a movement are two of the film’s greatest strengths. The film was well-received critically and was called one of the finest of 2016 by several publications; it also got multiple award nominations, including Best Actor nods for both Edgerton and Negga at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, respectively.
8. The Color Purple (1985)
Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel, Steven Spielberg and Menno Meyjes’ The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic coming-of-age historical drama film. In addition to Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover, the cast also includes Oprah Winfrey, making her film debut. Through unimaginable torture, hardship, and heartbreak, but finally, through resilience, liberation, and self-discovery, The Color Purple portrays the tale of Celie Harris’s life over forty years.
The film opens with Celie as a girl in rural Georgia, where her father abuses her physically and sexually. After being sold into marriage to Danny Glover’s abusive “Mister,” her troubles only worsen. Celie’s bond with Sofia (Oprah Winfrey, unforgettable in her Oscar-nominated performance), a defiant woman unafraid to fight for her dignity, and Shug Avery (Margaret Avery, glamorous as the singer and Mister’s mistress), helps keep her spirit intact despite her hardships. The movie was well-received by audiences and critics alike.
7. Mudbound (2017)
The post-war Mississippi Delta is the setting for Mudbound, an impressive examination of race and social conflicts directed by Dee Rees. Based on Hillary Jordan’s novel of the same name, the film is a sprawling narrative that reveals the intricate complexities of two families intertwined by land, ambition, and tragedy. It stars Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Jonathan Banks, Rob Morgan, and Mary J. Blige.
The film’s central characters are white farmers, the McAllans, and their African-American farm workers, the Jacksons. Through the eyes of two World War II veterans, Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund) and Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell), Mudbound delves into the nuances of the racial divide in the Jim Crow South. Returning to civilian life in Mississippi after serving together highlights the state’s severe racial inequities, despite their shared experiences in combat.
6. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
In the touching drama Driving Miss Daisy, Bruce Beresford examines an unexpected friendship against the backdrop of the American South at a moment of societal transition. The film, adapted from Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, is lauded for its comments on race and aging and the performances of Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy. Old Jewish Atlanta widow Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy) and her chauffeur Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman), are at the core of this drama.
After Daisy crashes her car and her son hires Hoke to fix it, the two first distrust one another and are hostile against one another. However, over 25 years, their relationship transforms into an unlikely friendship that transcends racial and social standards. Tandy wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Miss Daisy. She exemplifies Daisy’s transformation from an arrogant, irritated lady into someone who loves and cares for Hoke. Even more captivating is Freeman, who reprises his character from the play.
5. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Numerous critics and media sources agreed that 12 Years a Slave was the best film of 2013. Based on the 1853 memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup, a free African American from New York State kidnapped in Washington, D.C., in 1841 and sold into slavery, the film was directed by Steve McQueen and written by John Ridley. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup, while Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, and Brad Pitt are among the supporting cast.
The plot follows Solomon, an accomplished violinist and a family man living in Saratoga Springs, New York, lured to Washington, D.C., with the promise of a job. Instead, he’s drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the South. Despite his attempts to reveal his free status, he’s forced to hide his literacy and endure the brutal conditions of slavery for twelve long years. Lupita Nyong’o plays Patsey, a fellow enslaved person who suffers alongside Solomon and is the object of their master Edwin Epps’s (Michael Fassbender) cruel obsession.
4. Selma (2014)
Ava DuVernay and Paul Webb helmed and wrote the screenplay for the 2014 film Selma. David Oyelowo plays MLK Jr., and the film also has Tom Wilkinson as Lyndon B. Johnson, Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, and Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper. Oyelowo’s portrayal of Dr. King received praise for accurately depicting the charismatic leader’s public presence and inner turmoil and concerns.
The events of 1965 that are the subject of the narrative of Selma begin with a failed attempt by a local black citizen, Annie Lee Cooper, to register to vote in Selma, Alabama. Following a sequence of events, including the killing of civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson by an Alabama state policeman, Martin Luther King Jr. and his group marched from Selma to Montgomery. The film depicts the political and strategic deliberation inside the civil rights movement, including King’s conversations with President Johnson and the debates within the movement over the best course of action.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck and directed by Robert Mulligan is a legal drama film that has become an American classic. Horton Foote adapted his screenplay from Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Gregory Peck plays Atticus Finch, and Mary Badham plays Scout in this film adaptation. Both critics and audiences gave it rave reviews, and the movie was a financial success at the box office, grossing almost six times its budget. It received three Oscars, including Best Actor for Peck, and eight nominations overall.
The plot follows Scout Finch and her family as they navigate the Great Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, with the help of Scout’s older brother Jem (Phillip Alford) and their father, the recently widowed Atticus Finch. After being wrongly accused of rape by a white woman named Mayella Ewell, Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) retains the services of Atticus Finch, a trustworthy attorney. Atticus displays bravery and integrity by fighting for equality and the rule of law despite widespread racism and bigotry in the community.
2. Green Book (2018)
The 2018 comedy-drama Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly and based on a true story, stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. The movie recounts the life story of African-American pianist Don Shirley and Italian-American bouncer and later actor Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, who accompanied Shirley on a 1962 tour of the Deep South. Don Shirley is a cultured, accomplished musician. In contrast, Tony Vallelonga is an Italian-American working-class native of the Bronx who knows little of the world outside his area.
Their differences cause friction initially, but they form an unexpected relationship as they travel through the south’s racially segregated landscape. Critics praised the picture, especially Mortensen and Ali’s performances, although some were bothered by the film’s portrayal of race and by its depiction of Shirley. Green Book was nominated for and won a slew of accolades. The film, the screenplay, and Ali all took home Oscars.
1. Hidden Figures (2016)
A list like this would only be complete with Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures. The movie follows the true story of three African-American women whose mathematical prowess helped NASA’s space program succeed during the Jim Crow era. Janelle Monáe plays Mary Jackson, who became NASA’s first black female engineer, and Octavia Spencer plays Dorothy Vaughan, a computer programming expert who became NASA’s first African-American supervisor.
Taraji P. Henson plays Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who calculated flight trajectories for Project Mercury and other missions. The film shows their hardships and successes as they challenge a white and male-dominated society. The National Board of Review named Hidden Figures one of the best movies of 2016, and the film was a financial success. Three Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, were among the many honors it garnered.