This is one of those films.ĭon’t let me discourage you from seeing it though. However, some films fill in more gaps than others. Like the majority of movies “based on a true story,” embellishment is needed to fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, the majority of the rest of the film was invented for entertainment purposes. He did, in fact, serve during eight consecutive White House administrations, and he appears to be just as likeable a character as his silver screen counterpart. In fact, Cecil Gaines, a likeable character, isn’t even the real man’s name. The occurrences that elicit the most empathy for “The Butler’s” main character, Cecil Gaines, especially during the opening five minutes, didn’t even happen to him. “The Butler” is based on a Washington Post article from 2008 titled “A Butler Well Served by This Election.” A quick reading of the original article confirms the worst suspicions much of the most emotional happenings in the film aren’t accurate. But a quick Google search remedied the feeling, because as it turns out, the film is quite factually inaccurate.
I walked away feeling as though I had just realized I missed many chapters in my history classes. It’s as though the most cliché, yet still horrific events and occurrences of segregation and the Civil Rights movement were shoved into one painful, emotional ride of a film. The film’s predictability comes in the form of well-known historical events paired with as many almost-believable misfortunes that could befall one individual. The opening credits read, “Inspired by true events,” but perhaps it should read, “Loosely based on a distorted understanding of one man’s experiences.”
#The butler movie#
The movie follows White House butler Cecil Gaines through his experiences under eight presidents. “The Butler” is nothing if not emotionally charged entertainment, as it’s certainly not historically accurate. Predictable is probably the best word for it.
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