Lee Daniels’ The Butler

December 21 – December 26

Lee Daniels’ The Butler
In Lee Daniels’ The Butler, the history of the American civil rights movement is illustrated through the true-life experiences of one man and his family. Forest Whitaker plays Cecil Gaines, a White House butler whose career extended over decades. Beginning with a tragic childhood, through his rise in rank that lands him in the service of eight different presidents, from Eisenhower through Regan, we see the shaping of the country through the eyes of a man who was trained to be invisible in the presence of history. Meanwhile, Cecil has a life outside the White House doors. His wife, Gloria (Oprah Winfrey), feels jealous of his fierce dedication to his job, and his son Louis is fed up with his father’s acquiescence in the face of the injustices blacks are confronting at the hands of the ignorant. Featuring an amazing and expansive cast of familiar actors in roles spanning current history, A.O. Scott of The New York Times calls The Butler “a brilliantly truthful movie on a subject that is usually shrouded in wishful thinking.”

Dir.: Lee Daniels / 2013 / US / 132 min / Digital Cinema