Eugene Allen was an African American man who worked at the White House for 34 years under eight different Presidents. And just over a week ago, a movie entitled “Lee Daniels The Butler” was released into theaters portraying his life. Unfortunately, the movie I got to see in the theater was only loosely based upon it.
I’m not sure if I’m just becoming a tougher critic on the films that I’m watching these days in theaters or if my need for “factual movies” to be actually factual is changing my tastes. Either way, this summer has had such movies as The Conjuring and now The Butler that have really taken liberty with true-to-life information and stretched it rather thin. Don’t get me wrong, I felt the movie was done incredibly well in so many different elements. And if I were to base this movie completely on the acting alone, I’d give it five stars. Forest Whitaker, who played Cecil Gaines (the name given to the Eugene Allen character) even well deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, as does Oprah Winfrey who played his wife in the movie. But while the acting was even of that higher caliber for many of the other actors and actresses as well, it was the fictionalized parts of the plot that gave me a less than ecstatic feeling I was hoping for when the movie ended.
The premise of this film does indeed surround the 34 years Eugene Allen served under eight different Presidents. But the beginning of the film that involved a tragic childhood was not factual and neither was the whole storyline about the son named Lewis who was part of the civil rights based movement. And those were only two of the many discrepancies I discovered when I did my research surrounding the real life of Eugene Allen. Ironically, I probably would have gotten that ecstatic feeling I was hoping for if this movie had been a completely fictionalized story. In that case, I would have said it really was a well written script.
I often wonder if Hollywood over fictionalizes these real life stories of people like Eugene Allen because they feel it wouldn’t be interesting enough to make a film be completely or almost completely factual. Would that type of movie have been totally boring and uninteresting if it had been done with Eugene Allen’s life? I don’t think so. I’m sure there are many elements of his life that could have been portrayed accurately and kept the viewers captivated. But sadly, it wasn’t and The Butler was only loosely based on bits and pieces of it.
Thankfully, there are plenty of other movies that have come and gone in the theaters over the years that have been based more upon their factual events in history. _Gandhi, a film based upon parts of the life of Mahatma Gandi, was an example of that. Most of that movie was historically accurate except for a few minor Hollywood differences. And that film is in my collection of movies at home and actually does give me that ecstatic feeling every time I watch it. Even more recent was the release of Fruitvale Station this summer, which portrayed with almost complete accuracy, the last day in the life of Oscar Grant before he was innocently murdered by a transit station officer. It too moved me greatly, but in a different way, and will become one I purchase when it’s released on DVD.
While I am definitely inspired by the life that Eugene Allen lived, I only wish the movie had done a better job revealing his real life events. Regardless, the movie in itself is inspiring in the way his life is portrayed which stands to reason why the theater I saw the film at erupted in applause at the end. I can only hope that Hollywood will make factual films be more factual in the future and a lot less fiction. But if they stay on their current course, then maybe they should make a film based around my life. I’m sure the Hollywood version of my life would have a lot of good drama, and more than the type I ever was known to create…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
