Lee Daniels' The Butler

Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) starring Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, and a cast too large to enumerate. Whitaker plays Cecil Gaines, a fictional White House butler of 34 years' service. Loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, the film spans history from the administration of Eisenhower to the advent of Obama. Gaines actually served Eisenhower through Reagan, but the film continues after he retires. Some of the portrayals of presidents by familiar actors are jarring, but in general the film works. The main  problem is that it tries to do too much, and ends up short-changing many of the eras in history which it limns. I wanted to see more of Gaines work in the White House, but we catch only occasional glimpses of what goes on there. The film spends a lot of time on the civil rights movement, which was proceeding at the same time as Gaines' service in the White House. Gaines' son, Louis, becomes a civil rights activist, much to Gaines' displeasure, but they later reconcile. Overall, this is a good movie and Whitaker delivers an excellent performance as the title character. (English subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B