Entertainment - but with important themes (The Secret Life Of Bees (DVD))

Member Name: flutel

Product:	The Secret Life Of Bees (DVD)
Date:	27/05/09 (6 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All star cast, true to the book

Disadvantages: None

Watched this film this morning. I read the book a few months ago and thought it was a gentle - but interesting read. I felt that the subject matter of it would transfer very well to film - and it was with this thought that I sat down to watch the film with my teenage daughter.

Being a bit bookish, I generally prefer the book to the film - but this film was very true to the book and the spirt of the book. The casting was spot on with the characters fitting very well into my perception of them.

It's great to watch a film with full, rounded black women characters. It's great to watch a film with a strong but subtly done theme of the civil rights movement. It's great to watch a film in which the black women are not 'victims' at the end. Despite abuse, strength and unity win through in the end.

So, I would recommend this as a film to watch with your teenagers - but not just because of its political correctness - but because it is a good watch. I cried a couple of times (and so did my daughter) - and this must be a testament to the actors who skillfully portrayed the pain, the joy, the defiance, and the nurturing involved in the film. There was not one actor whose performance jarred on me.

Particular mentions go to Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah for their strong performances.

When the film ended, my daughter asked to borrow the book. Result.

Summary: Lovely feminist narrative that everyone can enjoy.