The Secret Life of Bees Review

I'm dedicating this review to Ms. Meri because every time I saw the previews for this movie for some reason I would think of her because of all of her Burt's Bees products reviews.  Ms. Meri maybe you will add this bee product to your reviews too;+)

I'm not sure if there are enough words to describe just how wonderful this movie is.  I had some cousins come in from Maryland for the weekend and the girls decided we wanted to hang out for a while.  We opted for a movie and had to pick something that would be appropriate for my 12-year-old cousin Cheyenne to watch.  We figured that since Dakota Fanning was starring in the movie it would probably be okay for her to see.  Well, it was all that and then some.  We laughed and we cried and then we cried some more.  

This is a wonderful movie for girl time or family time.  There are so many unexpected events that you cannot anticipate and I like that.  However, the theme and plot follow so smoothly and the producers, Jada Pinkett Smith, was an executive producer, did an excellent job in casting the characters.  The movie was directed by Gina Prince-Blythewood.

The leading characters were:

• Dakota Fanning: Lily Owens
• Jennifer Hudson: Rosaleen
• Paul Bettany:  Lily's father aka "T-Ray"
• Queen Latifah:  August Boatwright
• Alicia Keys: June Boatwright
• Sophie Okonedo:  May Boatwright
• Nate Parker: Neil
• Tristan Wilds: Zachary Taylor

Dakota Fanning is telling the story as the movie progresses.  It starts off with her as a 4-year-old and a tragedy that 10 years later still haunts her.  At age 14, circa 1964 she begins to question all the events that led her to where she is today.  It's set in a small rural town in SC that is just beginning to hear of integration, the right for colored people to vote, etc.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has just been passed but falls on deaf ears to a small town that is full of old beliefs, bigotry, and hate. 

Jennifer Hudson plays Lily's housekeeper and best friend (Rosaleen) and sets out to register to vote and buy Lily her first training bra.  A chain of events lands Rosaleen in the hospital with the anticipation of shipping her off to jail.  Lily helps her escape and they set out for Tiburon, SC (fictitious city) to discover more of her heritage, what was her mother's ties to that town, and what direction her life will take.  Lily needs to know why her mother left her father, did she really love her, and what was in Tiburon.

Lily's only leads are a picture of a black Virgin Mary; which leads her to August Boatwright's home.  August is the local bee charmer and the keeper of a legend of Mary.  August is the Queen Bee.  Commercials show Dakota telling Queen Latifah they need a place to stay.  What follows is a tale of a beautiful friendship.  Latifah sets Lily and Rosaleen up in a smaller building behind her house.  Rosaleen will assist in cooking with May and Lily will learn the fine art of bee charming and making honey.  June Boatwright isn't too keen on the new houseguests and is in a relationship with a young fellow named Neil; which doesn't seem to be going anywhere because she isn't allowing it to.  You will be mesmerized when you hear Alicia Keys play the cello.  I got goose bumps when she played "Amazing Grace." 

Zachary Lincoln Taylor is a hired hand that helps August in the honey business during the busy months.  He has dreams of becoming an attorney and Lily wants to be a professional writer.  Soon a friendship develops between him and Lily.  Each person has their own demons they must face and each deal with adversity in a different way.  May has emotional problems stemming from the death of a twin sister, April.  May builds a wailing wall and this becomes very significant throughout the movie. 

Lily believes she is responsible for her mother's death and that her mother didn't love her enough to stay with her.  This is probably one of Dakota Fanning's more adult roles and may very well be her rite of passage into adult entertainment.  Though she is a teenager, character and real-life, she has wisdom beyond her years and she displays some exceptional acting.  If this is a predictor of things to come from her then we will be seeing a lot of good things coming from her.

Queen Latifah plays a very warm and hospitable colored lady who lived in a day when Blacks were persecuted simply for the color of their skin.  There is some powerful dialogue filled with a lot of very intense language.  This movie has some very funny parts but it is a drama that will have you crying throughout.    You will be encouraged to see the close bond between sisters and how some people can make a difference in another person's life.

The movie is 110 minutes.  It's rated PG-13 for thematic material, violence and very intense language.

It has a slow start but once Queen Latifah debuts it takes off and you won't want to leave for concessions or a restroom break.  Everyone in my group cried.  I mean a river of tears in which you might have to redo makeup.  As we left the theater I don't think I saw a dry eye.  Later this evening we met up with some friends for dinner and the couple had gone to see the movie last night and they too enjoyed it.  One of the guys with us is a senior in high school and he said he was required to read the book by Sue Monk Kidd as part of his southern literature curriculum.  I'm not sure about everywhere else but I guess the movie is really making an impression in the south.

Lily asked August why she painted her house pink and August said that 10 years earlier May picked out the Caribbean Pink because she wanted to dance like a pink flamingo.  August said she didn't have the heart to tell her no and she said that sometimes you will disregard the appearance to lift someone's spirit.  I guess it's like that old saying, "When it comes to love, you don't count the cost."

Watch the movie if you want to find out:

• What happened to Lily's mother and father?
• What happens to May?
• What happens between Neil and June? 
• What happens to Rosaleen.  Will she ever get registered to vote?
• Where does Lily end up? 

The following quote (not from the movie) might help sum up the movie:  "People will forget what you did, people will forget what you said, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  ~Unknown

In a nutshell: The Secret Life of Bees is about a young girl trying to find love and acceptance when Black America is trying to do the same.

Oct. 24th: I went to see the movie again.  This time I saw it with Me-Maw for our girl's night out.  I still cried the second time around.