Movie Review - 'The Secret Life of Bees'

The Secret Life of Bees Starring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okenedo Directed by Gina Price-Blythewood Rated PG-13

The Secret Life of Bees is a film with a lot of heart. On its own, that's not always enough, but this one has a fair amount of intelligence, too. It's smart enough to let its two lead actors carry the action and propel the drama with their instincts, and when your leads are Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah, those instincts are usually pretty good.The story could've been anything, so long as The Queen and Dakota were able to share a few scenes, but the film is based on the novel of the same name, about a girl's search for truth in a time searching for its own. Lily (Fanning) tells us in the film's opening minutes of the horrible way she came to be at a crossroads in her life at the age of 14.Her relationship with her father (Paul Bettany) is not one to treasure; withstanding it may even be tough. So Lily decides to split town with Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), who works for her father.This being 1964, a white girl and a black woman walking through rural South Carolina might raise an eyebrow. But Lily believes she is being guided somewhere important when she winds up on the doorstep of August Boatright (Queen Latifah). August and her sisters, May and June (Sophie Okenedo and Alicia Keys) offer to let Lily and Rosaleen stay so long as they help with the family business: Honey.We have seen many of the lessons taught by The Secret Life of Bees in other films. And there are still many lessons to be learned about racial equality in our everyday lives, secret or otherwise. Those are not the film's strengths, but rather its window dressing. The real power here is in the terrific ensemble of women who push each other and pull each other closer. And yes, Dakota Fanning can now be considered a woman, by my estimation.Though she is still only 14 years old, Fanning is beginning to walk into more mature roles with a grace equal to the precociousness that marked her work as a seven-year-old in I Am Sam. She has always been believable, perhaps too mature for her years, but now she's a veteran, and she's gaining an understanding that comes with growing up.The Secret Life of Bees hinges on that, as well as the natural ability of Queen Latifah. And for the most part, the film succeeds because of their efforts. But I found that it took risks it did not need to take and didn't take some it probably should have. It's still a nice movie with great performances, but it's probably a little too nice and not demanding enough.

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