The Secret Life of Bees

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The Secret Life of Bees

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The Secret Life of Bees

Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Paul Bettany, Sophie Okonedo, Hilarie Burton, Tristan Wilds

With pieces of her past all jumbled up in her head, young Lily Owens seizes an opportunity to leave behind her father and their South Carolina peach farm. Traveling with her nanny, Rosaleen, Lily enco...( read more  read more... )unters the Boatwrights, a trio of beekeeping sisters, who fold the girl into their strange, secret world.

Id: 10951765

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The Secret Life of Bees Recent Reviews
  • mistershinobi
    April 4, 2009
    mistershinobi
    Everytime I cry when watching a movie, it's because I find something in it that I can relate to: a character, a situation, a choice. I see myself in it and the tears don't wait to start coming down like rain. I like to cry when watching a movie, and it's always a sign that the mo...( read more)vie itself is pretty awesome. But this is the first time, and I don't know if it's going to be the last one, that I've ever cried because of a performance, and not a character. For example, when I was watching The Wrestler, I cried for the character, even if I didn't relate to him (Thank God!) but this time, it was the actual performance of Dakota Fanning that set the tone for a nice crying when her breakdown near the end came along. I was moved to tears without even a warning, and I realized she has become the mature actress we all knew she was going to be someday, sooner or later. She has never been this subtle before, developing depth instead of sass or simple emotion. She has always been terrific (I still think her performance in Uptown Girls is fantastic, as her roles in Man on fire, Hide and Seek and I am Sam) but now she goes far away from her usual gimmicks and finds a new voice in the hands of a beautiful character and an awesome screenplay, which could've gone wrong (Lifetime wrong) but didn't.

    A gorgeous story of hope, anger, guilt and pain, surrounded by a magnificent production design and cinematography, along with a nice, quiet direction from Gina Prince-Bythewood, that puts emphasis in gazes, silence and subtlety, setting the perfect tone for breakdowns and crying, instead of filling the entire movie with grief, which would've become a cheesy chick-flick instead of the Southern masterpiece that it is.

    The entire cast is at the top of their game, from an awesome, almost divine, lovely Queen Latifah to a cute, masterful Sophie Okonedo (great, as usual) and a haunting Paul Bettany in a character I'd have loved to see more developed that it was. The thing is, I have a problem with Alicia Keys. I mean, if Norah Jones was able to make a good debut in My Blueberry Nights (of course, guided by WKW, duh), why couldn't she be at least mildly convincing at all?! She was dull from start to finish. But still, the whole movie made such an impact in me that I kept forgiving the filmmakers for trusting her with this. As for Jennifer Hudson, I'm starting to think she actually has a great future in front of her. I haven't seen Dreamgirls but she blew me away in this film, and I hope that all the haters see her here in order to realize she's a pretty damn good actress besides some cheesy diva musical.

    Awesome high-class drama. Nothing less than that.
  • jamilyn0276
    March 9, 2009
    jamilyn0276
    I love movies that tell a great story and make me cry. The Secret Life of Bees is one of those movies. It's the story of the different relationships people have, love, how we relate to one another, and changing times.
    Everyone in this cast gave a stellar performance. Dakota Fann...( read more)ing, I usually tend to find a bit annoying. But I seemed to love her in this, and even relate to Lily. Sophie Okonedo broke my heart, as May. She carried the weight of the world on her shoulders and the pain in her heart. As someone with soft heart, I can empathize with how difficult that would be. Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Hudson all gave outstanding performances in this film as strong, fearless women.
    The Secret Life of Bees is a must see movie, but you may want to bring a box of Kleenex or two.
  • OnlyNDreams
    February 21, 2009
    OnlyNDreams
    A brilliant cast! I thought that the chemistry was great between all of the female actresses, and a really inspiring story.
  • LitelBluHli
    February 9, 2009
    LitelBluHli
    Very different is my first thought. I've been wanting to see this for quite some time, finally rented it. Dakota Fanning was great in this. The scenery was very pretty. All the other ladies were great as well. It's just a sweet story.
  • StaisilD
    February 8, 2009
    StaisilD
    Living under the tight control of her alcoholic father T. Ray (Paul Bettany), young teen Lily (Dakota Fanning) is dealing with her own guilt over her mother's death and the questions left behind. Leaving T. Ray, Lily and fugitive housekeeper Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) hit the roa...( read more)d, soon stumbling upon the Boatwright family, June (Alicia Keys), May (Sophie Okonedo), and August (Queen Latifah), and their business of honey production. Joining the women under false pretenses, Lily finds a safe haven amongst the family, who allow the girl an opportunity to find herself and seek out answers to the mystery of her mother while tending to the bees. In a truly unprecedented tale for its time which finds the highly-educated, intelligent, compassionate and wealthy Boatwright women owning their own land and business, it's refreshing for a period film to provide fully realized characters for a predominantly African-American female cast as in most 60's. Fanning gives her best performance to date, really starting to come into her own as a remarkable young actress with extraordinary emotional depth. Hudson and Latifah are excellent, infusing the material with a sense of personal pride that helps balance out the occasionally cornball contrivances. The Secret Life of Bees puts something of a high-gloss sheen on times and struggles that were far harsher than the film suggests. But the narrative seems true to the thoughts and perceptions of its teen protagonist, a girl who's become something of a hero to an entire generation.
  • sylkiesweet
    December 8, 2009
    sylkiesweet
    Beautiful movie, great casting, wonderful job by Miss Fanning who is certainly growing in a gorgeous young woman
  • mstweety620
    December 6, 2009
    mstweety620
    I Loved It! and Cried ALOT
  • uberbeard
    November 29, 2009
    uberbeard
    I went into this movie having absolutely no idea what it was going to be about. I was pleasantly surprised, mostly with Dakota Fanning's performance, who is usually pervasively annoying. Heart felt in approach, the whole mid-century American racism is old ground, and this lifts l...( read more)ightly from classics like Mockingbird, but it does so cleverly and artistically.
  • xantheonix
    November 29, 2009
    xantheonix
    A great,moving movie which will have you both on the edge of your seats and in tears at times. A truly moving movie with a wonderful cast.And yes,it probably is a chick flick,but one worth watching.
  • viragvenekey
    November 27, 2009
    viragvenekey
    This is a movie about the knowledge of our history and ourselves. The characters are all rich and very well played by the cast. Makes you cry naturally!
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