The Secret Life of Bees is a perfect rewatch when you’ve reached the end of everything new on all your streamers. It stars a gaggle of women, and was written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood from a novel by Sue Monk Kidd.
The Secret Life of Bees begins with 14 year old Lily (Dakota Fanning) telling about how she accidentally killed her mother ten years ago. Her father (Paul Bettany) treats Lily with the same abuse he used on her mother. Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) works in their house doing the cooking and cleaning.
Lily has only a few treasured keepsakes from her mother. One is a photo of a Black Virgin Mary with the name of a town in South Carolina on the back. When Rosaleen is beaten up by a bunch of white men, Lily springs her from the hospital and they take off for South Carolina.
When they reach the town, Lily spots the Black Virgin Mary on a jar of honey and learns about the Boatwright family and their bright pink house. She walks up to the pink house with Rosaleen, tells them she and her friend need a place to stay, and they take her in!
Yeah, sounds impossible, but there’s a reason the Boatwrights are welcoming that you don’t learn until later. The family includes August (Queen Latifah), the beekeeper, June (Alicia Keys), a music teacher, and May (Sophie Okonedo), an empath who lost her twin sister.
Good heavens, what an amazing cast!
August puts Lily to work with the bees. Rosaleen helps May in the kitchen. Life takes on a normal routine.
June has a fella named Neil (Nate Parker). Zach (Tristan Mack Wilds) helps out with the honey. Zach has dreams of becoming a lawyer like Thurgood Marshall. Lily develops a crush on him. Their tender coming of age journey is interrupted by him getting beaten and thrown in jail for being in public with a white girl.
Lily learns about the Black Virgin Mary. She learns about May’s wailing wall that stretches across the back lawn. She learns she’s worthy of love, especially the love of her mother. She wasn’t sure about that before.
When The Secret Life of Bees landed in 2008, it stirred up a lot of controversy. I’m sure there are still people around who would find things to rage about with this film, but I found it beautiful and positive. There’s so much love in this story. It tells an important story about racism without ever preaching. It tells an important story about loneliness and love with dynamic drama.
Gina Prince-Bythewood did a brilliant job writing and directing the film. The film won awards from places like BET and NAACP, but it certainly deserved more “mainstream” awards as well.
It’s definitely worth a watch (or a rewatch). You can find it on Hulu and Disney+ or rent it on Prime.
such a great film and brilliant actors,his is one of my go to films when i need a good cryMy cousin Vinnie when I need a good laugh
Two excellent choices!