There is a scene in The Secret Life of Bees where the characters are enjoying each other’s company in a playful episode, when out of nowhere one of the women bursts into tears.
That fit of uncontrollable sorrow in the midst of happiness is a microcosm of the entire movie.
The Secret Life of Bees features an estrogen-heavy all-star cast, from 14-year-old-screen veteran Dakota Fanning as a young girl searching for self-discovery to the wise matriarch anchor character played by Queen Latifah.
But somewhere in between the emotional rollercoasters, personal tragedies and confusing character composition, the ingredients for a good film ultimately turn into mush n a flavorful mush n but mush nonetheless.
Based on Sue Monk’s best-selling novel of the same name, Secret Life of Bees takes place at the peak of the Civil Rights Movement in the South and visits the troubled life of Lily Owens, a young girl looking to find herself through the memory of her mother.
Singer Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, and Sophie Okonedo round out the cast that attempts to showcase the concept of womanpower and maternal wisdom.
Typical of the worst case scenario for screenplays that are adapted to film, Secret Life of Bees is lost in the conversion process. The end result is a constant push and pull between too much and not enough.
Confusing, ambiguous spiritual messages along with a false sense of flexibility and conflicting images as they apply to Jim Crow don’t help either.
Secret Life of Bees film is not unbearable, but the laboring of unnecessary and somewhat unacceptable points while completely missing some of the more crucial ones can make viewing a task.
Writer/director Gina Prince-Blythewood, mostly remembered for her film Love and Basketball, sticks with her niche of highlighting the strength of her female characters.
But in the case of Bees n even with the abundance of emotions n she fails to deliver the heart of the matter with respect to the feelings and depth of her characters.
By only offering surface explanations and reactions to deep-rooted flaws and characteristics of the story’s central figures, Blythewood-Prince never quite allows the audience the necessary insight to connect with them.
With the exception of Lily, audiences will be unable to get to the bottom of their innermost thoughts and feelings because Prince-Blythewood only offers a sneak preview of the supporting characters.
But those same underwritten women manage to be the saving grace of Secret Life of Bees.
All of the performers in the film n especially Fanning n were effective in their delivery. Even singer Alicia Keys’ performance was impressive, despite her failure to fully grasp the Southern dialect.
There was an undeniable chemistry among all of the women of the cast. And the notion of black women making due with what they have is truly evident as the ladies manage to pull together.
And while the film follows the familiar formula of the black help lifting up their white counterparts, the interesting spin on the success stories that lie within are worth noting.
There is also a scene in the film where that same woman who breaks down mid-joy squares her shoulders, holds her head up and symbolizes strength during a period of extreme crisis. She makes an executive decision to work diligently towards making life sweeter for someone else.
The Secret Life of Bees opens in theatres October 17. The film is rated PG-13 with a running time of 110 minutes.
