From Page to Film: The Help

I'm gonna start a new blog topic comparing a book to it's film version. I'm gonna start this with "The Help" which I just finished reading and then found the movie and watched it.

I truly enjoyed the book. The characters were well thought out and seemed honest. I personally loved the character of Minny and absolutely hated Hilly, which was the point of the story. I've always been inspired by those who stood up for civil rights. From Martin Luther King Jr. to John and Bobby Kennedy. I grew up in a home where everyone was equal regardless of race and it bothers me that we still see racism today in some places. I enjoyed reading a story where people stood up for what they believed in and you see the friendship that can grow between people of different races. 

A friend of mine also reviewed the book recently (see her review here: Absolutely Amy) and she commented on how the book had a bitter sweet ending. Personally I thought it was a great ending. It wasn't entirely happy but it was filled with hope and faith which was all they had in those days. Hope and faith that someday people would change and the world would become a better place. A truly happy ending would have seemed fake to me. 

What the movie did right was the casting. The got every character right. My only qualm was with the fact that Emma Stone could never really be considered ugly but she is such an amazing actress who was a great choice as Skeeter. 

The movie flowed well but felt rushed. This opinion is only because I read the book first and knew they had made changes to both the story and the characters to fit it into a two hour movie. Even with these changes I loved the movie. It was funny in the right moments and sad in the right moments. 

I didn't like some of the changes to the Minny character. I felt they made her less critical of what was happening. Her character was more fierce in the novel but it's a small complaint since the actress was since able to deliver some of the best lines of the film. 

The character changes I did like were the changes to Skeeter's and Hilly's mothers. I liked that Hilly's mother had a few extra scenes to show her disapproval of Hilly. I loved that Skeeter's mother got to redeem herself in the film. I wanted it to happen in the book and it didn't. 

The movie also nailed the ending perfectly. It was filled with just as much sadness at the end as the novel but was also able to display the lasting image of hope and faith.

On it's own The Help is a great emotional film that I will gladly add to my movie collection when it is released. When compared to the novel it holds up much better then most other book adaptations. 

I think both must be experienced. If you haven't read the book yet I recommend reading the book before watching the film because like in most instances the book offers more story to enjoy that is left out of the novel.