If you appreciate “The Help,” you’re seeking for emotional, inspiring, and thought-provoking Drama films about/with racism, civil rights, friendship, hopes, social interactions, master and servant, and maid themes shot in the United States or India.
The films in the list are ordered by similarity. The recommendation engine filtered out films with plots about fate, mentor, honesty, catastrophe, friendship, prejudice, and redemption, largely in the Drama, Biography, and History genres. Some films similar to The Help:
- The Color Purple (1985)
- Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
- The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
- The Butler (2013)
- Hidden Figures (2016)
The matched properties are shown in bold.
- The Color Purple (1985)
The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes, based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel of the same name. It was Spielberg’s seventh feature as a filmmaker, and it was a watershed moment in his career as a change from the summer blockbusters for which he had become famous.
It was also Spielberg’s first feature picture in which he did not compose the music, instead opting for a score by Quincy Jones, who also produced it. The cast includes Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey in her film debut, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Willard Pugh, and Adolph Caesar.
The film was a box office hit, collecting $142 million on a $15 million budget. Critics praised the picture, praising its acting, director, storyline, musical soundtrack, and production values in particular. Several condemned it for being “over-sentimental” and “stereotypical,” and some NAACP chapters boycotted it because of its depiction of rape.
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Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Bruce Beresford, based on Alfred Uhry’s 1987 play of the same name. Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd feature in the picture. Freeman returned to the part he played in the original Off-Broadway production.
Daisy and her point of view are defined by a network of relationships and emotions that spans twenty-five years, focused on her home life, synagogue, friends, family, anxieties, and concerns.
Driving Miss Daisy was a critical and economic triumph upon its release, and it got nine nominations for the 62nd Academy Awards, winning four: Best Picture, Best Actress (for Tandy), Best Makeup, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
It is the most current PG-rated picture to win Best Picture as of 2022.
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The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
The Secret Life of Bees is a 2008 American drama film based on Sue Monk Kidd’s 2001 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Will Smith, with Jada Pinkett Smith serving as executive producer. It starred Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, and Paul Bettany.
Queen Latifah’s portrayal as August Boatwright in The Secret Life of Bees is notable. The film was released on October 17, 2008, in the United States, and on December 5, 2008, in the United Kingdom.
David Gordon Green was set to direct the film early in its production, and Focus Features was set to release it.
Production began on January 7, 2008, in Lumberton, North Carolina, and ended a few months later in Watha, North Carolina. The film premiered at the 33rd Annual Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008 and was released theatrically on October 17, 2008.
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The Butler (2013)
The Butler is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels, based on Danny Strong’s screenplay. It’s based on Wil Haygood’s Washington Post piece “A Butler Well Served by This Election.”
The film, loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, who worked as a White House butler for decades, stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, an African-American who witnesses significant political and social events of the twentieth century during his 34-year employment as a White House butler.
Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Nelsan Ellis, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Elijah Kelley, Lenny Kravitz, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, Robin Williams, and Clarence Williams III round out the all-star cast.
It was the final film produced by Laura Ziskin, who died on June 12, 2011, and it was also Clarence Williams III’s final film performance, who retired from acting in 2018 and died on June 4, 2021.
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The Weinstein Company released the picture in theatres on August 16, 2013, to mainly positive reviews from critics, with many appreciating the cast but criticizing the historical accuracy, notably President Reagan’s portrayal. Despite a $30 million budget, the film grossed over $176 million worldwide.
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Hidden Figures (2016)
Hidden Figures is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed and written by Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder. It is partially inspired by Margot Lee Shetterly’s 2016 nonfiction book of the same name about African American female mathematicians who worked at NASA during the Space Race.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, and Glen Powell star in the film.
Principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2016 and ended in May 2016. Several more Georgia places were used for filming, including East Point, Canton, Monroe, Columbus, and Madison.
Hidden Figures was released in limited release by 20th Century Fox on December 25, 2016, before going wide in North America on January 6, 2017. It gained critical acclaim, with praise for the writing, direction, cinematography, emotional tone, and historical authenticity, however, some said it featured a white savior narrative.
The picture was a commercial success, generating $236 million worldwide against a production budget of $25 million.
