(Tate Taylor, US 2011, 146 min., DCP)
Octavia Spencer earned an Academy Award on her first nomination in this film based on the best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett. Set in early-1960s Jackson, Mississippi, the story follows “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone), recently graduated from college and looking to become a writer. When she lands a job at the local newspaper as the “domestic columnist,” she consults the bevy of maids that work at local white households, prompting her to conceive a project that tells their stories. Integral to this plan are Aibileen (Viola Davis), who works for Skeeter’s friend Elizabeth (Ahna O’Reilly) and Minny (Spencer), who has worked for many families, currently in the Walters house. As word of the book spreads, each of these women find themselves in precarious positions. Spencer is a stand-out in a stacked cast that includes Sissy Spacek, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Mary Steenburgen, and Cicely Tyson.