Honey, you'll enjoy this film! (The Secret Life Of Bees (DVD))

Member Name: frankie1984

Product:	The Secret Life Of Bees (DVD)
Date:	12/01/09 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Thought provoking and great cast

Disadvantages: You'll need tissues

I recently went to see this film at the cinema due to the fact that there was nothing else on that appealed to both myself and my friend. I don't think it has really been given much advertising as I have not seen one trailer on TV for it nor many posters in the cinema - the only reason we spotted it was on was because we went online to look for film times!


Written by Sue Monk Kidd and Gina Prince-Bythewood and also directed by Gina Price-Bythewood this film is currently showing in UK cinemas and is rated 12.



The plot:
The film is set in South Carolina in 1964 where 14yr old Lily Owens lives with her father Ray and her carer black carer Rosaleen. Lily is haunted by memories of her late mother and why back when Lily was a little girl she had left her and her father. On the day that her mother came back for her she was killed by accident and her father tells her that she wasn't coming back for Lily at all and had only returned to get some of her belongings. This upsets Lily and so she wants to go to the place where her mother was from so that she can get some answers. The opportunity to do this presents itself one day when Rosaleen is involved in a fight with white man who doesn't like that Rosaleen has answered back to him. Lily goes to the hospital where she is and together they flee to another town in South Carolina where they find the three talented Boatwright sisters, August, June and May who live on a bee farm. Taken in by them they slowly learn many lessons in life and Lily tries to learn about her mother - however August knows something about Lily unbeknown to her which could help her find out about her mother - how will this effect Lily when the truth comes out?



The cast:
I looked at the cast list and thought to myself that it would be nice to see Dakota Fanning in a film because she always comes across very well on screen - I wasn't expecting how different she looked in this film though as it's been quite some time since I saw a film with her in and she has grown up quite a lot since then! She did really well with the part I thought. Another starring role for Jennifer Hudson too who has made quite a name for herself since her time on American Idol! Once again as she did for me in 'Sex and the City' she brought her brilliant acting skills to the film. She does play quite a strong part to do with racism and I thought she managed to portray the role very well.
The three Boatwright sisters are all played by strong characters in the form of Queen Latifah in the role of August, Sophie Okonedo as May and Alicia Keys as June. I think Sophie Okonedo is fabulous as an actress and this particular role she has is brilliant for her as the sister with slight mental problems. Alicia Keys comes across as the more arrogant sister whom she manages to play quite easily if you ask me and Queen Latifah is good as the elder and more responsible sister. Lastly, the actor, Paul Bettany, who plays Ray, Lily's father is pretty good too - he comes across as quite spiteful and bitter and the audience rarely see any affection from him towards his daughter.
Generally I was very impressed by the cast and thought they did really well with the sensitive and thought provoking roles they had. There are plenty of scenes in the film that make the viewer feel very strong emotions and this I truly believe is down to not only the script but the acting.



Overall opinion:
I wasn't expecting to actually enjoy this film as much as I did to be honest and so I think it was definitely more enjoyable for me because I had slightly low expectations. The opening scene draws the audience straight into the film and as I mentioned there are plenty of very emotional scenes. I cried at least twice during this film but, also laughed which in my opinion is always a sign of a good film. I think it will definitely not suit everybody as it deals with issues of racism and life in general and I think if you were the type to enjoy a shoot em' up or fantasy type film then this probably wouldn't be your cup of tea however please don't dismiss this film altogether as it really is a great little film.

Summary: A brilliant film