7) “God says we need to love our enemies.” – The Help (2011)
Written and directed by Tate Taylor, this adaptation of Kathryn Stockoff’s novel of the same name became a critical and commercial success, largely thanks to the extraordinary performances of a talented cast. Set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962, the character of Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) narrates the story, which is told from her point of view. She is a middle-aged black maid who has lost her only son in an accident, and spends her days raising the offspring of white people. She relates the story of her best friend, Minny (Octavia Spencer), and how she undertook – and encouraged others – to tell the world what life was really for ‘the help’, by contributing stories to a book being written by young, white writer, ‘Skeeter’ Phelan (Emma Stone). Working on the project reveals the deep-seated prejudices of some local people, and ultimately brings about the beginning of important social change within their community.
“God says we need to love our enemies. It’s hard to do. But it can start by telling the truth. No one ever asked me what it felt like to be me. Once I told the truth about that, I felt free. And I got to thinking about all the people I know. And the things I seen and done. My boy Treelore always said we gonna have a writer in the family one day. I guess it’s gonna be me.”
Aibileen’s words summarize the sense of hope for continued change and improvement in the wake of Skeeter’s book – but more than that, it highlights the idea of suddenly being visible after a lifetime of invisibility. Through the very personal viewpoint of this character, the effect of that invisibility is entirely more devastating and hard-hitting – and her pronouncement of having found her voice, and her own authority to use it, is the most uplifting and inspirational part of that narration.
8) “Always Be Closing” – Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Few actors have a voice for giving searing speeches quite like Alec Baldwin. He is up there with Al Pacino and Samuel L. Jackson as one of the best profanity spewers in show business. In what may be the least motivating motivational speech ever given to a sad sack of workers, Alec Baldwin’s slick, snide, egotistical salesman extraordinaire digs into the sorry salesmen in a real estate office. When moviegoers think of David Mamet’s notorious profanity, many probably imagine this speech.
The character giving the speech is Blake, although he tells one of the characters that his name is “Fuck You!” Want to know why? Well, according to him, he drove an $80,000 BMW to scream at these suckers. His “Always Be Closing” motto presses into the characters to be even more cunning and ruthless, a commentary from the screenwriter about the empty competition of white-collar jobs.
[zergpaid]Miraculously, this is the scene that probably first pops into our minds when we think of Glengarry Glen Ross, yet it is not even in Mamet’s original play. It was a juicy addition to James Foley’s terrific film adaptation. Vicious and viciously funny, the scene creates tension and stakes through the insane expectations thrust on these sorry workers by a man who has no moral compass. The winner of the month’s sales contest gets a car, while the runner-up gets steak knives. The rest of them are fired.
Belittling the salesmen without a shred of class or compassion, Baldwin has never made quite as big of an impression again. Full of motivation and malice, his character may be much wealthier and more successful, but Blake fits in well to this company of angry, anxious finger-pointing men, and Baldwin sets the tone for this film with relish. So, do I have your attention now?
