Lee Daniels begins his dive into the dark American past with visuals of weathered and solemn faces of African American workers in a cotton field during the 1920s. These are the roots of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), a son to sharecropping parents both tied to a Macon, Georgia farm by law. What is first depicted as a sentimental and loving moment between a hardworking father and his son escalates quickly when the farm’s owner enters the scene. The owner strides past Mr. Gaines and requests Cecil’s mother’s assistance, gesturing at a nearby shed. Minutes pass and tears stream down the face of young Cecil. The man exits the shed, but Mrs. Gaines does not. When Cecil’s father confronts him, he is executed in front of his son.

Daniels’ scene went above and beyond gaining my undivided attention. The brutality of that moment made me feel a seething hatred towards that abusive landowner and his treatment towards his workers.

From his grueling life at Macon, a young Gaines decides to move off the plantation towards a better life. With nowhere to stay, Cecil spends several nights curled up in storm drains and out in the open. Surprisingly, a major step in Cecil’s life begins when he breaks the window of a pastry shop to scavenge for food. That is when he meets Mr. Maynard, the master servant at the shop, and the man who will teach Cecil the skills that will carry him for the rest of his life.

After working alongside Maynard for a while, Cecil is shocked to hear the news that Maynard has set up a serving position for him in Washington D.C.

The plot skips to the year 1957, and his small job at a hotel swiftly transitions into a butler position at the White House. He establishes a family with two sons and his loving wife Gloria (Oprah Winfrey). Little does Gaines know that his position there will span 34 years and have him bear witness to the presidencies of Dwight D. Eisenhower all the way until Ronald Reagan.

The contrast between Gaines’ life as a butler and his life as a father is fascinating. In his life outside the White House, the civil rights movement of the 1960s is experienced by Cecil through his eldest son, Louis, who encounters extreme racism in the South when he is sent to college in Tennessee. Louis joins the movement just as Martin Luther King Jr. is beginning his protests, and is later credited as one of the many heroes of the movement.

This film deals with the views of the separate generations of Cecil and Louis in a powerful way. The motivation of Louis to postpone his college education to protest is not supported by his father because it seems like something utterly unattainable. The idea of white dominance has been hammered into Cecil through years of oppression, but Louis’ idealist beliefs contrast completely with Cecil’s in one major regard: hope.

“The Butler” is an absolute historical masterpiece based loosely on the life of former White House head butler, Eugene Allen. Whitaker’s performance of Gaines was Oscar-worthy and convincing. Winfrey’s supporting role as Gloria created great chemistry between the two.

This story of a man who came from nothing and saw everything is not one to be missed. Nearly a century of history passed before this man’s eyes and after all his hard work and perseverance, he was rewarded with the honor of being alive to see the United States’ first African American president.

5/5 Stars