--- title: "The Help" year: 2011 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-help" fi1m_id: "the-help" imdb_id: "tt1454029" tmdb_id: 50014 wikidata_id: "Q204374" fi1m_score: 66 critics_score: 65 critics_reviews: 14 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:34.290392+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Help (2011) Directed by Tate Taylor · 2h 26m · MPA PG-13 · Drama ## Identity The Help - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-help - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-help - **IMDb ID:** tt1454029 - **TMDB ID:** 50014 - **Wikidata ID:** Q204374 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/50014, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q204374 **Fi1m score: 66** · Critics 65 from 14 reviews *In a sentence:* Viola Davis could have saved everyone half an hour by being left to talk > Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer make *The Help* moving enough to merit an evening. Tate Taylor’s drama is less convincing about segregation, giving its white heroine too much credit and its audience too much comfort. ## Synopsis In 1960s Mississippi, black maids work for white families under segregation. Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) wants to gather their experiences into a book. Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) face the question of how much to tell a white woman about the people who employ them. Their conversations test the trust between women whose lives are separated by race and social position. Tate Taylor adapts Kathryn Stockett’s novel, with Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook and Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote. ## Review *The Help* works well enough as a sentimental ensemble drama to make its evasions frustrating. Tate Taylor, adapting Kathryn Stockett’s novel, wants a broad audience to listen to black domestic workers describing their lives in 1960s Mississippi. He gets that audience through humour, friendship and actors who can hold a scene without raising their voices. But his account of segregation is so anxious to offer comfort that the cruelty begins to seem easier to put right than it should. Emma Stone plays Skeeter Phelan, the white woman who helps turn the maids’ experiences into a book. Stone makes her interest in their stories easy to believe, and the growing trust between Skeeter and Viola Davis’s Aibileen Clark gives the film something more substantial than speeches about decency. Yet Taylor presents Skeeter so approvingly that there is little room to question her position. We spend too much time being assured of her goodness when the women talking to her have more to tell us. Davis is the reason that imbalance does not sink the film. When Aibileen recounts her experience, the quietness of Davis’s delivery makes us attend to how much she chooses to say and how difficult saying it is. We were moved by those passages because she makes the act of trusting a listener feel risky. Taylor gives her room to do this, and for a while the film stops trying quite so hard to assure us that decent people will make everything better. Octavia Spencer gives Minny Jackson the comic force the film needs, with timing sharp enough to prevent the humour from becoming merely cosy. Her presence makes the changes between comedy and hurt feel less laboured. Jessica Chastain brings welcome vulnerability to Celia Foote, finding some private feeling in another broadly written part. Bryce Dallas Howard has less room as Hilly Holbrook, whose emphatic characterisation is too easy to read; Taylor leaves us little to discover about her. Stephen Goldblatt’s glossy photography favours close-ups, a sensible choice when Davis can hold the attention with so little apparent effort. The polished finish is less helpful to a film already inclined to soften its setting. Mark Ricker’s production design supplies the period detail efficiently, but its neatness adds to the sense that this is a past made comfortable to visit. The actors are often more successful at making us uneasy than anything that surrounds them. At 146 minutes, it also gives its incidental stories more space than they earn. Hughes Winborne’s editing keeps individual exchanges clear, but the accumulation of subplots weakens the urgency of the women’s undertaking. Thomas Newman’s score reinforces the invitation to feel for them, sometimes too insistently; Davis has usually got us there before the music needs to intervene. A firmer cut and less musical encouragement would have trusted the cast more. The film follows a familiar course for a popular historical drama, using friendships to make a large injustice easier to understand. That can work, and the warmth between the women explains much of its appeal. Here, however, Taylor seems too satisfied with the discovery that individuals can be kind, and too ready to let that kindness reassure us about everything else. See it for Davis and Spencer, with the caveat that its comforting account of history needs more questioning than the film supplies. *Fi1m score 66, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to The Help, with praise clustering around the cast rather than its treatment of history. Viola Davis is the clearest point of agreement: even sceptical reviews find that her performance gives the drama weight, while Octavia Spencer draws frequent praise for her warmth and comic timing. Emma Stone also has admirers, and the favourable reviews credit the ensemble with making a sentimental story moving and funny. The spread is wide, however, with disagreement over how much the performances compensate for the film’s softened account of racism. Some critics accept the gloss as part of an effective popular drama; others find the storytelling cosy, predictable or too eager to reassure. Slant Magazine objects specifically to making the white protagonist the hero of the maids’ story, while The Independent finds that the premise produces too little tension and resolves its difficulties too easily. ## Straight answers **Is The Help worth watching?** *The Help* is worth an evening for Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, and we scored it 66. Tate Taylor's drama about black maids in 1960s Mississippi is moving whenever the two of them are talking, but it gives Emma Stone's white heroine too much credit and makes segregation look easier to put right than it was. See it for the cast, not the history. **How long is The Help, and what is it rated?** *The Help* runs 2h 26m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a drama film. **Where can I watch The Help in the US?** *The Help* is streaming on Tubi in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is The Help, and is it suitable for children?** *The Help* is a 12A drama with no violence to speak of and nothing that should frighten a child. Its difficult material is the everyday cruelty of segregation, shown through humiliation and hurt rather than anything graphic, so it suits older children and teenagers watching with adults who can fill in what the film softens. At 146 minutes, younger viewers may find it long. **How does The Help compare to Imitation of Life?** *The Help* is the gentler and more comfortable of the two, and [*Imitation of Life*](https://film.one/film/imitation-of-life) is the harder film. Both put a black domestic worker at the centre of a glossy weepie, but Douglas Sirk lets the melodrama sting where Tate Taylor keeps assuring us that kindness will fix things. We prefer the Sirk; *The Help* is the easier evening and the better showcase for its two leads. **Is The Help based on a true story or a book?** *The Help* is based on Kathryn Stockett's novel of the same name, not on a true story, though it is set among real conditions in segregated 1960s Mississippi. Tate Taylor adapts it as a sentimental ensemble drama, and you do not need to have read the book to follow it. The film keeps the novel's warmth and, we think, too much of its comfort. **What should I watch after The Help?** After *The Help*, try [*Imitation of Life*](https://film.one/film/imitation-of-life) (1959, Fi1m 86): Race, domestic labour and friendship, with melodrama that allows far less comfort. Then [*Pride*](https://film.one/film/pride) (2014, Fi1m 82): For warmth and ensemble comedy that give collective action its proper importance; and [*Roma*](https://film.one/film/roma) (2018, Fi1m 86): Domestic work receives patient attention, without making the employer the obvious hero. ### Reviews we read (21) - **Time Out**, Cath Clarke (4/5): The critic is sold on this brazen Oscar-baiter about black maids publishing a memoir in 1960s Mississippi, despite some sentimentality and historical gloss. The heartfelt, hilarious film is elevated by a dream-team cast topped by Viola Davis. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-help) - **Total Film**, Jane Crowther (80/100, inferred): The film turns potentially mushy material into something genuinely stirring thanks to its talented cast and director. Standout performances from Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Emma Stone, plus strong comic timing and likeability, make it a ladies'-night crowd-pleaser. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-help-review/) - **Empire**, Anna Smith (75/100, inferred): A well-made, stirring drama with terrific performances that mostly works despite occasional patronising moments. It benefits from a quality cast, moving story, fizzy dialogue and strong period detail. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/help-2-review/) - **Vulture** (70/100, inferred): The film is too soft and glossy with TV-style close-ups but delivers a thorough emotional workout that plays like effective soap opera. It belongs to Viola Davis, whose tough and beautifully judged performance gives the movie a spine. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2011/08/movie_review_the_help.html) - **Evening Standard** (55/100, inferred): Strong central performances, especially from Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, make the film watchable despite its flaws. The story offers only a partial, overly cosy and white-savior view of segregation and race relations in 1960s Mississippi. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-help-review-7427323.html) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Kirk Honeycutt (55/100, inferred): The film is a self-conscious and self-congratulatory portrait of the Jim Crow South that idealizes its white heroine and relies on facile characters. It succeeds through two magnificent, award-worthy performances by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/help-film-review-219915/) - **Screen Daily** (50/100, inferred): This is a nicely cast but otherwise pedestrian adaptation of the bestseller that meanders through incidental scenes and lacks dramatic momentum. Performances by Viola Davis and Jessica Chastain stand out amid the mixed bag. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/the-help/5030621.article) - **Slant Magazine**, Andrew Schenker (40/100, inferred): The film excels when relating black experience through the maids' stories but reduces much else to cheap historical ironies and thesis-declaiming dialogue. It ultimately centers the white protagonist Skeeter as the real hero in a paternalistic take on the material. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-help/) - **The Independent** (40/100, inferred): The film lets its risky premise resolve far too easily and without real tension. It is the softest, fluffiest take on racial oppression imaginable. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dvd-the-help-7554550.html) - **Los Angeles Times**, Betsy Sharkey: The film is a delicious, peppery Southern stew of racism that turns feel-bad material into a heart-warming surprise through laughter and strong performances. The cast, led by Davis, Stone, and Spencer, and Taylor's deep Southern roots give it emotional charge and specificity. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-aug-10-la-et-the-help-20110810-story.html) - **The Guardian**, Xan Brooks: The film is an airbrushed fairytale but rousingly effective in its account of the push for racial equality. It features strong performances from Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, with Emma Stone as the catalyst. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/27/the-help-film-review) - **The New Yorker**, David Denby: The movie is crude and obvious in places but opens up new experience on screen and is moving and well-acted enough that second-rate elements matter less. Taylor brings out the best in his cast, especially Davis and Spencer, while focusing on female friendship under pressure. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/08/15/maids-of-honor) - **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis: The film is a big, ole slab of honey-glazed hokum that strains for tears with its pileup of calamities. Viola Davis's performance as Aibileen gives the movie needed gravity and dimension amid its buoyant tone. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/movies/the-help-spans-two-worlds-white-and-black-review.html) - **The Telegraph**: Emma Stone is sparkling in this hugely enjoyable adaptation of the bestseller. It concentrates on personal injustices rather than broad politics and features fine comic and dramatic turns from the cast. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8850312/The-Help-review.html) - **Variety**, Peter Debruge: It is a stirring black-empowerment tale that personalizes the civil rights movement through domestic servants' testimony. The adaptation has Southern sass, feel-good sensitivity, and strong ensemble appeal, especially among its target audience. [Read](https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/the-help-1117945766/) - **HeyUGuys**, Lisa Giles-Keddie (5/5): The critic calls Taylor’s take a profound and rousing triumph with lasting universal appeal. Standout performances from Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are singled out for praise as they bring warmth, humanity and award-worthy depth to the central roles. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-help-review/) - **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (B): A well-intentioned drama buoyed by strong performances, especially Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, that lift it above a potentially Hallmark-style story. The critic praises the Southern charm and focus on the maids but notes it is predictable, overly tidy and not particularly groundbreaking or challenging. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-the-help-a-well-intentioned-drama-boosted-by-strong-performances-20110809/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B-): The film delivers powerful emotional moments thanks to strong performances, especially Viola Davis as Aibileen, but stumbles with uneven character shading, an overly faithful adaptation, unnecessary subplots, and excessive length. [Read](https://collider.com/the-help-review/) - **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson (3.5/5): A good story well told with an immersive quality and startlingly good performances from the entire cast, particularly Stone, Davis and Spencer. The critic notes an uneasy feeling about the film’s time-capsule approach to racism but ultimately finds the emotional notes attractive despite some heaviness. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-help-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) - **Digital Spy**, Stella Papamichael (60/100, inferred): The adaptation feels like a sanitised version of the truth about the experiences of black maids in 1960s Mississippi. Viola Davis delivers a quiet expression of strength as Aibileen, and the emerging trust between her and Skeeter is gratifying to watch. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a343590/the-help-review/) - **The Wrap**: The critic calls it an enjoyable message movie and urges readers to see it. They single out its focus on the power of storytelling as both meta subject and source of terrific, entertaining tales from the characters. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/help-shares-power-story-telling-1960s-mississippi-29941/) ## Details - **Director:** Tate Taylor - **Director:** Tate Taylor - **Screenplay:** Tate Taylor - **Novel:** Kathryn Stockett - **Cinematography:** Stephen Goldblatt - **Editor:** Hughes Winborne - **Music:** Thomas Newman - **Production design:** Mark Ricker - **Costume design:** Sharen Davis - **Producer:** Chris Columbus, Brunson Green, Michael Barnathan - **Cast:** Emma Stone as Skeeter Phelan; Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark; Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook; Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson; Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote; Ahna O'Reilly as Elizabeth Leefolt; Allison Janney as Charlotte Phelan; Anna Camp as Jolene French - **Runtime:** 2h 26m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 10 August 2011 - **Genres:** Drama - **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2011); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 2011); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 2011) - **Budget:** $25 million - **Box office:** $217 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eajzW3XW7Q ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $4.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $17.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-15.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2012: Best Actress (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (won) ## If you liked this - *The Long Walk Home* (1990): Another domestic worker’s story, with more attention to the cost of solidarity. - *Imitation of Life* (1959), Fi1m 86: Race, domestic labour and friendship, with melodrama that allows far less comfort. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/imitation-of-life.md) - *The Second Mother* (2015): A household’s class arrangements become harder to ignore when a daughter visits. - *Pride* (2014), Fi1m 82: For warmth and ensemble comedy that give collective action its proper importance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/pride.md) - *Roma* (2018), Fi1m 86: Domestic work receives patient attention, without making the employer the obvious hero. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/roma.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-help