At age 4, Lily Owens accidentally kills her mother (Hilarie Burton) as she struggled with her father (Paul Bettany). It's 1964 South Carolina. Lily (Dakota Fanning) is about to turn 14. Her father is a cold abusive man. They run a peach farm and Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) is her caregiver and only friend. Civil Rights Act has just been passed. Rosaleen gets beaten for trying to register to vote. Lily breaks her out of the hospital before they finish the job. They are headed to Tiburon because that is what's written on the back of her mother's picture. Lily finds jars of honey for sale which leads to August Boatwright (Queen Latifah) who lives with her sisters May (Sophie Okonedo) and June (Alicia Keys). Lily befriends a teen black boy Zach Taylor (Tristan Wilds) who comes to work with the bees.
The material wants to be better. It deserves to be more epic. It could be more compelling considering the subject matter. Before getting to August and her sisters, this movie is intense. Hudson getting beaten after spilling the tobacco juice is a real big scene. Paul Bettany is a good villain. The problem is that the story at the house takes a break. The house exists in a bubble and the tension somehow floats away. The story meanders and it never truly recovers its early intensity. Also, there may be one too many side stories. As with some novel-turn-movies, it may not be something that could translate quite as well as what's on the page.
The material wants to be better. It deserves to be more epic. It could be more compelling considering the subject matter. Before getting to August and her sisters, this movie is intense. Hudson getting beaten after spilling the tobacco juice is a real big scene. Paul Bettany is a good villain. The problem is that the story at the house takes a break. The house exists in a bubble and the tension somehow floats away. The story meanders and it never truly recovers its early intensity. Also, there may be one too many side stories. As with some novel-turn-movies, it may not be something that could translate quite as well as what's on the page.