《The Help》　相助　斗争也可以清新而充满温情

No.072　《The Help》　相助　斗争也可以清新而充满温情

英文导读

The Help is a 2011 American drama film adaptation of the novel of the same name (2009) by Kathryn Stockett, adapted for the screen and directed by Tate Taylor.

A 1960s-era Mississippi debutante sends her community into an uproar by conducting a series of probing interviews with the black servants behind some of her community's most prominent families. Skeeter (Emma Stone) has just graduated from college, and she's eager to launch her career as a writer. In a moment of inspiration, Skeeter decides to focus her attention on the black female servants who work in her community. Her first subject is Aibileen (Viola Davis), the devoted housekeeper who has been employed by Skeeter's best friend's family for years. By speaking with Aibileen, Skeeter becomes an object of scorn to the wealthy locals, who view her actions as directly challenging to the established social order. Before long, even more servants are coming forward to tell their stories, and Skeeter discovers that friendship can blossom under the most unlikely of circumstances.

Set in Jackson, Mississippi, it stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek, Mike Vogel, Mary Steenburgen and Allison Janney. Produced by DreamWorks Studios and distributed by Touchstone Pictures, the film opened to positive reviews and became a box-office success with a gross of $211.6 million against its budget of $25 million.

The Help received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregators Rotten Tomatoes reported that 76% of 197 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 7/10. The site's consensus stated, "Though arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast—particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own. " Tom Long from The Detroit News remarked about the film:"Appealling, entertaining, touching and perhaps even a bit healing, The Help is an old-fashioned grand yarn of a film, the sort we rarely get these days." Connie Ogle of The Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars and said it "will make you laugh, yes, but it can also break your heart. In the dog days of August moviegoing, that's a powerful recommendation."

In February 2012, the film received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress for Davis, Best Supporting Actress for Chastain, and a win for Best Supporting Actress for Spencer. On January 29, 2012, the film won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

获奖情况

2012年第84届奥斯卡：最佳女配角奖，并荣获最佳影片提名、最佳女主角提名。

影片信息

导演：泰特·泰勒

编剧：泰特·泰勒

主演：艾玛·斯通、维奥拉·戴维斯、布莱丝·达拉斯·霍华德

类型：剧情

制片国家（地区）：美国、印度、阿联酋

上映日期：2011-08-10（美国）

片长：146分钟

又名：《姐妹》《写出友共鸣》《女仆》《帮助》《帮佣》

剧情简介

20世纪60年代，在美国南方的密西西比州，这里的社会依旧深受“黑人奴隶制”阴影的笼罩。在许多家庭里，黑佣依旧遭遇着不平等的待遇。22岁的白人女孩史基特·费兰（艾玛·斯通饰）是生长在这片土地上的普通女孩儿。在她完成大学学业回到家乡之后，发现从小带自己长大的黑人女佣不告而别了，这让从小把这位佣人当做朋友的史基特心里很难受。

机灵能干、内敛沉着，曾带大17个白人小孩的黑佣爱比琳·克拉克（维奥拉·戴维斯饰），在史基特的朋友家当帮佣，照顾她2岁的女儿。另一名黑佣米妮（奥克塔维亚·斯班瑟饰），是爱比琳最要好的朋友，有着一手好厨艺，但她泼辣的个性使她常常丢掉工作。

个性善良的史基特一直对待黑佣如家人，但她发现为白人带大小孩儿的黑佣们，不论在生活或态度上，都时常得到不平等的待遇，甚至连和白人共用厕所的权利都被剥夺。

对此深感不平的史基特，决意着手一个大胆的写作计划：采访在白人家庭工作的黑佣们的痛苦遭遇，并写成一本书。以一种平静而同样充满力量的行动，去帮助他们发起一场民权运动。与此同时，马丁·路德·金领导的平权运动正在如火如荼地开展，而史基特所在的密西西比州正是斗争的前沿，因为黑人遭射杀的血案，种族隔离开始，一场肤色之争在所难免……

制作花絮

本片改编自凯瑟琳·斯托科特出版于2009年的同名小说，这是她的处女作。

在影片中合作的艾玛·斯通和布莱丝·达拉斯·霍华德都在不同的《蜘蛛侠》电影中扮演过葛温·斯塔西这个角色。

影片在密西西比的“摄影棚”是一栋当地居民的房子。起先导演还觉得当地的房子不会太大。可是进去一看才发现仅仅是一个餐厅就有30英尺宽40英尺长（接近110平方米）。

梅丽莎·莫利纳罗曾经为了西利亚·富特这个角色来到剧组试镜。

重点学习

And she's eager to launch her career as a writer

文中的be eager to是英语中的一个固定搭配，是“盼望，渴望要做…”，其后接动词原形，比如：The staff will be eager to help you through every step of the job search process.（那里的员工会很热心的指导你求职中的每个步骤。）

And became a box-office success with a gross of $211.6 million

每部影片都会有它的销售box- office。当人们在谈论the box-office, they are referring to the degree of success of a film or play in terms of the number of people who go to watch it or the amount of money it makes.也就是“票房；票房收入，票房价值”的意思，比如：The film has taken ＄180 million at the box office.（这部电影的票房收入已达到1.8亿美元。）当我们去看电影，现场买影票时，看着写有Box Office的房间，那么它就是“售票处”了。另外，box office用于口语中，能表达“能吸引观众的演出（或演员）；叫座”的意思。文中的box-office是形容词，是“票房的”意思。

单词时间

debutante[ˈdebjutɔŋt] n. 初次参加上层社会社交活动的少女

prominent[ˈprɔminənt] adj. 突出的，显著的；杰出的；卓越的

inspiration[ˌinspəˈreiʃən] n. 灵感；鼓舞；吸气；妙计

servant[ˈsə:vənt] n. 仆人，佣人；公务员；雇工

blossom[ˈblɔsəm] vi. 开花；兴旺；发展成

circumstance[ˈsə:kəmstəns] n. 环境，情况；事件；境遇

arguably[ˈɑ:ɡjuəbli] adv. 可论证地；可争辩地；正如可提出证据加以证明的那样地

yarn[jɑ:n] n. 纱线；奇谈，故事

moviegoing[ˈmu:viˌɡəuiŋ] n. 上电影院，看电影；上电影院看电影的习惯

recommendation[ˌrekəmenˈdeiʃən] n. 推荐；建议；推荐信