An all-star cast brings best selling novel to life.
by Jasmine Kabera
Set in South Carolina in 1964, the movie The Secret Life of Bees (Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd) tells the story of Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning), a young girl who just turned fourteen. While other fourteen-year-olds would be looking forward to their birthdays, Lily is haunted by a recurring memory of her mother’s accidental death. When Lily’s black housekeeper Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) insults three white men in town, the two girls flee to Tiburon, South Carolina, a town Lily hopes will uncover the secrets of her late mother’s past. Soon afterward, Lily and Rosaleen are taken in by the Boatwright sisters August (Queen Latifah), June (Alicia Keys) and May (Sophie Okonedo), three intelligent and sophisticated beekeepers who know more about Lily’s mother than they let on.
The Secret Life of Bees is a heartwarming coming of age story corresponding with the tough and turbulent times of the Civil Rights era. The movie displays a wide range of themes, from religion and racism to love and guilt during a time when the Civil Rights Act was barley passed and African Americans were now allowed to register to vote.
Through it all, Dakota Fanning flexed her acting muscles while radiating true teen angst. Fanning rides out Lily’s constant emotional turmoil like a professional, and the audience watches her blossom into a young woman onscreen.
In one scene, Lily is so grief stricken she throws bottles of honey at the wall while sobbing. The scene is profound because it showed Lily finally coming to terms with viewing her mother, a figure she had closely worshiped all her life, as a flawed human being. She was so torn with the thought of her mother rejecting her that despite being a usually a head strong and courageous young girl, she throws the biggest tantrum in the whole movie.
Queen Latifah played right into the role of Godmother to the troubled Lily, while Alicia Keys turned on the sass while playing an intelligent cellist and civil rights activist who wasn’t so happy with the new arrivals.
Last but not least, Sophie Okonedo plays the most memorable character May, the only Boatwright sister who is very simple-minded and displays child-like innocence. Despite her character’s simplistic dialogue, Okonedo delivers a performance deserving of an Oscar.
There are a lot of sad and often downright depressing moments in the film that cause a floodgate of tears and sniffles, but despite the often-sappy undertones, the actors make a beloved novel shine and draw the audience in. The Secret Life of Bees was worth every penny of my seven dollars and fifty cents.
