The Butler lasts through 3 or 4 presidencies. He comes from a family of indentured servants. His mom gets raped and his dad dies. after that, he works as a house boy and learns the trade that eventually gets him into the White House. He performs all the tasks he's to do without entering into conversations with the presidents. His face is the only thing that betrays him. If you can say anything about Forrest Whitaker, it's that he can grimace.
In the mean time, one son of his, the elder one, begins work with the civil rights movements; first, MLK, then Black Panthers. His other son goes off to the military to fight vietnam. There is a great row at the dinner table regarding what's right and what's wrong.
All that said, i didn't enjoy this movie very much. It mostly bored me. Most of the audience were old black folks. If you're independent or some CG built sci fi flick, i can stand a pg-13 rating. But for historical dramas, i get bored unless it's visceral. And that, this is not. Just like i can't expect anyone to get anything out of this if i am boring.
2 out of 5 stars.
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