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" The stories of slaves and civil rights activists in America&amp;#039;s Deep South are often told in cinema, but the focus is rarely placed on the house help, perhaps because staying in the background is part of the job description.  Even so, this adaptation of Kathryn&amp;#039;s Stockett&amp;#039;s hit novel - which sees black maids dish the dirt in 1960s Mississippi - still feels like a sanitised, almost Daz-white version of the truth. Thank goodness Viola Davis shows some backbone as Aibileen who, though seeming to hold things back, turns this into a quiet expression of strength. Emma Stone, hot property following Easy A and ahead of The Amazing Spider-Man, is ostensibly the star of the show as Skeeter. Again, she trades on her oddball charm to set herself apart from her society friends and with her dreams of becoming a writer. The other gals, led by the snotty Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard, playing it broad) are all-consumed with marriage, babies and Hilly&amp;#039;s latest pet project, to have everyone in town install outside toilets for their negro servants. This rubs Skeeter up the wrong way, just as she is beginning to question whether the departed nanny she loved as a mother may have had hidden cause for resentment. Skeeter turns to Aibileen, maid to one of Hilly&amp;#039;s simpering acolytes, in an attempt to understand the heart and mind of someone who is tasked with caring for the children of those who oppress them. She is driven, too, by the idea of turning these confessions into a ground-breaking book. For this, Skeeter could also be accused of exploitation except that Stone exudes a naivet\u00C3\u00A9 that guards against this, and Stockett and writer-director Tate Taylor emphasise the sacrifices she makes in her own life.  When she finally gets a shot at love, she makes Aibileen her priority, bringing her into conflict with her dying mother (Allison Janney). Of course, Aibileen has even more to lose in the land of the lynch mob, but this is only hinted at in a story that mostly unfolds in polite circles. Octavia Spencer muddies things up a bit as Hilly&amp;#039;s housekeeper Minny, famous for her chocolate pie and, after adding a secret ingredient, downright notorious. Her lip soon gets her fired and bending Skeeter&amp;#039;s ear, along with Aibileen. She is re-employed by Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life) who plays a jiggling Marilyn wannabe branded &amp;quot;white trash&amp;quot; by Hilly and co. and together, they make a very funny and endearing odd couple. The slow emergence of trust between Skeeter and Aibileen is also gratifying to watch, but it&amp;#039;s somewhat undermined by Stockett and Taylor&amp;#039;s reluctance to weigh up the real cost of Aibileen&amp;#039;s rebellion. In a similar way, making Hilly a flouncing, pantomime villain only trivialises the sinister workings of a society headed by people who were anything but frivolous. Aibileen&amp;#039;s story is still sure to inspire, but even more so if you can see past the polish.   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a343590/the-help-review/>