The Butler

2013 132 min ★ 7.3 Drama

Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.

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Cast

Forest Whitaker

Cecil Gaines

Oprah Winfrey

Gloria Gaines

David Oyelowo

Louis Gaines

John Cusack

Richard Nixon

Jane Fonda

Nancy Reagan

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Carter Wilson

Mariah Carey

Hattie Pearl

Terrence Howard

Howard

Lenny Kravitz

James Holloway

Aml Ameen

Cecil Gaines (15)

Details

Director

Lee Daniels

Tagline

"One quiet voice can ignite a revolution."

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Budget

$25,000,000

Revenue

$177,313,795

Production

Follow Through Productions, Salamander Pictures, Laura Ziskin Productions, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Pam Williams Productions, Windy Hill Pictures

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

April 15, 2022

★ 7/10

We begin with some brutality at the hands of a character (Alex Pettyfer) who believes that the negroes on their cotton plantation are, quite literally, worthless. He rapes a woman then murders her husband when he raises a very mild objection! His mother (Vanessa Redgrave) takes a liking to their now orphaned boy and promotes him from the fields to be their houseboy. Learning how to keep his head d...

V

v4lapq4m

May 20, 2023

★ 10/10

I was in a mood for a Robin Williams movie. I hadn't heard of this one and it was streaming free. While Williams had only a small role as Eisenhower this movie was amazimg: thought provoking and tear jerking. Probably not the best for a 5:30 a.m. Saturday, bu this is going on my DVD to purchase list. Following a man(Whittaker) from his childhood on a plantation, to running away from home, getting...