AMB Reviews

The Secret Life Of Bees: 8.5/10 Stars

Release Date: October 17, 2008

Content Advisory: Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some violence. A woman is implied shot by a toddler. An abusive father roughly grabs his wife and throws her about. He does the same to his daughter, and even goes to the extent of occasionally hitting her and tugging on her hair. A woman commits suicide (though we see her body, it is completely bloodless). Several African Americans are poorly treated and beat up due to racism.

Review: 

Though my review is several months late for this film, I just had the oppurtunity to view it at a local cheap theater. I was quite excited to see the all-star cast in this film, though I didn't really know too much about the plot. Something to do with bees, right? In the end, it turned out to be a whole lot more than that... 

In Short:

The Secret Life Of Bees takes place back in 1964, where racism was still a huge deal in the United States. It documents the journey of two friends, Lily and Rosaleen (played wonderfully by Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Hudson) who befriend three bee-keeping women, all named after the months of the year (August, May and June). Of course, I will dive much more into its elaborate plot later in my review, but that is the main overview of this powerful film, that captures you within seconds of its opening scene and never lets go until the end. It tugs at your heartstrings and truly packs one powerful punch. 

In Full: 

Lily shot her mom. At the age of 4, not knowing any better, she pulled the trigger and killed her mom who was physically abused by her husband. Now, at 14 years old, her father is still abusive and angry, while her only form of optimism comes with Ms. Rosaleen... her father's housekeeper who also serves as Lily's friend. When Rosaleen is hospitalized and beat for her skin color, Lily runs away from home to rescue Ms. Rosaleen, and together, they set off to search for the truth behind her mother. They find a lone house in the middle of nowhere, yet home to three very hospitable, bee-keeping women, all named after months of the year... August, May and June. Through her struggles to find who she is and who her mother was, Lily makes new friends, confronts teenage romance, and continues to hide away from her father in the one place where she feels loved.

The acting, in all, is fabulous. This film features an all star cast, including Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning and Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson. Fanning, whom, though I haven't seen much of her other work, portrays Lily wonderfully and is growing into quite a mature, young actress. Hudson, Latifah, Keys and Okonedo all play the supporting roles superbly as well, with Sophie Okonedo really sticking out to me. She, having to play a very delicate and gentle lady, fit into the role perfectly. Even Lily's abusive step father was decent, with the few scenes he's given. All in all, the acting was most definitely one of this movie's strong points.

I must also praise the direction of this film, as I believe that without the great direction, this film would not be as good as it was. Everything about the film just seemed to flow right along. The plotting was perfect, never once growing monotonous or tedious, and the whole movie just seemed to grab a hold of you with the opening sequence, and never let go until the final credits. Every film is like one big jigsaw puzzle... some of them are missing pieces. With The Secret Life Of Bees, however, I never felt like I was missing a piece, and always felt like I had every single piece I needed... right there, at the tip of my fingerprints. It was a perfect fit.

This movie, being one that is supposed to try and wrench at your heart strings and make you cry, does so without seeming too corny and forced. I never once felt like anything about the movie was trying too hard to make the audience cry. The plot just flowed along peacefully, touching and moving us automatically. It transitions from cheerful moments into those depressing moments smoothly and without problems. It never felt choppy to me, though for some, it might grow dull after a while, as it is a very talky movie. 

For most, though... The Secret Life Of Bees ends up being a very decent flick with some lovely morals woven throughout, teaching us of love and forgiveness without punching us in the face with us. It gently shows us the concept of real love and how forgiveness really is possible. It shows us this with a very neat and clever story line that is sure to entertain many. It's a very enjoyable flick that, though is most certainly entertaining, also offers something more... some valuable. Something worthwile. And that, my friends, is the real reason to track down the next showing of this film at your local theater.