The Secret Life Of Bees

Cast: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Screenplay: Gina Prince-Bythewood (Screenplay), Sue Monk Kidd (Novel)
Genre: Drama
Rated: M Mature themes and violence
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Released: 5 Mar 2009

Bring Your Girlfriends, Sisters, Mothers and Daughters

Synopsis:
The Secret Life Of Bees, based on the New York Times best selling novel and set in South Carolina in 1964, is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father (Paul Bettany), Lily flees with Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys), Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping.

My Verdict:
In 1964 in South Carolina, 14-year-old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) reluctantly lives with her emotionally distant father T. Ray, (Paul Bettany) after the death of her mother. Haunting Lily are the reasons for her mothers death and her wishes to find her place in the world. After experiencing racial bigotry in town, Lily escapes with her housekeeper Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) to a town that Lily believes will solve some of the missing gaps in her life.

Lily and Rosaleen arrive on the doorstep of the Boatwright sisters, the gentle matriarchal August (Queen Latifah), stoic, sensible June (Alicia Keys) and the very sensitive May (Sophie Okonedo) who take them in, in exchange for work - Rosaleen in the kitchen and Lily learning the art of beekeeping. The sisters slowly reveal themselves to Lily and Rosaleen whilst slowly eliciting the real reason for their journey.

Dakota Fanning has enough experience to be able to sustain a leading role and gives her character enough convincing emotional depth even with some of the maturity-beyond-her-years the character of Lily has been written with. Her goal is to find answers and find a place in the world where she feels like she belongs and uses the Boatwright sisters as her focus. Queen Latifah is tender and solid as August, Alicia Keys is firm as June with an underlying softness itching to be exposed and the standout is Sophie Okonedo as the emotionally troubled yet optimistic May. The three are a comfortable fit. Jennifer Hudson is perhaps underused as Rosaleen and sometimes disappointingly feels like a background player, especially towards the latter stages of the film. There are a few male roles; most notably Lily's father T. Ray played with sensitivity by Bettany, even given his character is meant to be despised.

Sometimes a movie has chick-flick written all over it and whilst The Secret Life Of Bees does boast five women as the leading characters, it is certainly not just for and about women. There are themes here about family, about mothers and about living in communities, all neatly tied up with the bees from the title being the perfect metaphor. It is August who explains away all the bee-like connections to Lily about how she and her sisters live their lives, with Latifah purring her wisdom like a queen bee herself. Perhaps the actual lives of the bees and the production of the honey is understated and could have been explored more. Curiously (or not) the vocal talents of Latifah, Keys and Hudson are never used (with a minor exception from Latifah).

Overall, there is nothing that shrieks brilliance here but The Secret Life Of Bees is still a worthwhile emotional journey with heart-felt lessons to be learned. It is gently sweet, with a few challenging scenes and likeable performances from all.

Rating : **½

Christina Bruce