I actually missed the first seven minutes of this film, because stupid old me stayed for the end credits for Australia.  I spotted its poster hanging on a wall on Greenbelt 3 and would’ve dismissed it, if not for that ‘Limited Run’ sticker on the bottom part.  Plus, it had Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Paul Bettany and a grown-up Dakota FAnning on it.  There was no way I’d miss this one.

Strangely enough, with all those singers, there was a very limited amount of musical numbers in this film.  I mean, because I had no idea what this movie was about, my expectations were raised a bit; with all these diva’s sharing the stage, how could they not be?

As it turns out, this movie was about racism, giving me no respite from the theme, as somebody who’s just stepped out of Australia.  Because I’ve missed the first few minutes, I have no idea how this film opens but I caught the scene where T.Ray Owens was sitting in a kitchen chair, drinking a bottle as his daughter, Lily, pours salt onto the floors.  And then she kneels on them.

The film was set on South Carolina in 1964, so it was very much interesting to see and hear everybody speak in a Southerner accent.  Quickly the pacing of the movie tells you that this was translated from a book; it was languid and easy going on some parts, but puzzlingly fast-paced on the others.  Now I don’t know just how much of the script was lifted from the book but the lines, although delivered beautifully, felt a bit fragmented.  Excusable, but it felt like that scratch you just can’t reach in this movie.

Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film’s director and the screenplay writer, took very good care of the treatment of this film.  It was all about racism and all that, but hardly do we see any real violence; the beating up and the roughhousing was left to the imagination, but we do see and feel the repercussions of such acts.  We sense the anger that radiates from those who’re fighting the cause and the sorrow that the wronged feel as their families are torn apart by the unjust system.

Dakota Fanning as Lily Owens, a girl who runs away from a drunk father who mistreats her tries to find out who she really is by following her dead mother’s footsteps.  This is such a heavy role it’s ridiculous.  There’re just too many layers for this young character that nobody else could’ve possibly played this role this good.  It unnerved me for a bit to see that little kid from Uptown Girls and I Am Sam towering as tall as Jennifer Hudson on film; she’ s just so grown up now.  Although she obviously hasn’t lost any of her acting skills, oh no.  I’ll be the first to admit that I ended up crying three times during this movie because the acting was just so pure and hard hitting.  There were hardly any lines about emotions on this film, but then again it didn’t need any.

Jennifer Hudson as Rosaleen Daise, the colored housekeeper for the Owens family.  She was an advanced for a colored person at the time; she could read, write and was all for having colored people be given the right to vote.  She even showed off these traits to three bigots whom she and Lily ran into during a trip into town.  The acting was passable; she wasn’t really given much time to shine because as soon as Rosalleen and Lily enter the Boatwright house, Rosaleen just sort of faded into the background.

Queen Latifah played August Boatwright, the eldest of the Boatwright sisters ran a bee farm.  They were a very sophisticated bunch of women, for colored or non-colored standards, and made a living off selling honey.  As a sister August is very compassionate, doing everything she can to keep the peace in her household.  Queen Latifah was very effective in this role; she exuded that strong sense of calm that was the strongest trait of her character.

Alicia Keys as June Boatwright, I found to be very refreshing, as she was the sole person who brought on the ghetto-ness in this film.  Unbelievable, since there were only two other cast members who were white.  I had a lot of fun seeing her in all her kinky-haired glory, actually.  As for the acting, well it was good enough; I mean I bought it.  I understood where her character was coming from, why June was so guarded and so wary of everybody else in their town.  And it was oh-so-priceless to see her eyes widen in that “oh, NO you didn’t” when somebody called June a selfish bitch.  I was actually waiting for the snapping of the fingers.

Sophia Okonedo as May Boatwright was just precious.  She really shined in this film and has made me a fan of hers.  I am now determined to see every film she’s ever been on because she brought that big of a gun in this one.  She acted out the role of a damaged person so well, I could literally feel the words from the book washing over me.  And I haven’t even read the damned book yet.  There was just something so powerful in her mannerisms that made my heart bleed for what May was going through.

Paul Bettany as T. Ray Owens, Lily’s drunkard of a father.  It actually took me a few seconds to figure out that this was the same dude who played that English dude in Wimbledon because he nailed that Southerner accent down ridiculously well.  T. Ray was a war-decorated hero who, after marrying his childhood sweetheart, turned bitter and hurtful.  Personally I think he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder but it was never cleared up in the film.  This is yet another testament to Paul Bettany’s great acting abilities.  T. Ray was basically the villain in this film but the way Paul Bettany portrayed it, you can see each and every emotion that tugs at him.  There is conviction in every act and even though he’s hurt a lot of people, you still feel sorry for him and actually understand why he’s the way he is.  A hell of a feat considering he doesn’t really have that many lines and only shows up for about a quarter of the movie.

The casting director struck gold with this ensemble; everybody shined in their own right, giving a mind blowing and staggering performance.  A true tearjerker if there was one and I recommend you go see it with somebody who’ll appreciate both the message and the acting.

9.5/10 because it’s just that good.  Really.