Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2014

Lee Daniels (Precious) uses the truish story of a butler (Forest Whitaker) who was a fixture in the White House from 1952 to 1986 to chronicle the Civil Rights movement. It’s full of truths, and you should see it. Now the gripes: It’s a tad self-important, its blatant (evidently ineffective) Oscar-baiting is off-putting, and the parade of big-name cameos portraying all those presidents is distracting. But, somewhat paradoxically, the best scenes take place outside the presidential mansion, focusing on the battles between the non-confrontational butler and his vastly more politically engaged son (David Oyelowo). (127 min)