The Help poster

The Help

Change begins with a whisper.

8.2(9,351)20112h 26m31

Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.

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Status
Released
Budget
$25M
Box office
$216.6M
Language
English
  • based on novel or book
  • mississippi river
  • exploitation
  • racial segregation
  • racism
  • writer
  • maid
  • moral courage
  • ressentiment
  • southern belle
  • racial issues
  • 1960s

Top billed cast

Behind the camera

Director

Tate Taylor

Produced in

United States of America

Gallery

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Videos

Release dates

  • IndiaIN

    • Theatrical25 Nov 2011
  • United StatesUS

    • PremiereBeverly Hills, California9 Aug 2011
    • TheatricalPG-1310 Aug 2011
  • United KingdomGB

    • PremiereEmpire Big Screen14 Aug 2011
    • Theatrical12A26 Oct 2011
  • United Arab EmiratesAE

    • PhysicalBlu-ray8 Feb 2012
  • AustraliaAU

    • TheatricalM1 Sept 2011
  • CanadaCA

    • TheatricalPG9 Aug 2011
  • ArgentinaAR

    • Theatrical12 Jan 2012
  • BelgiumBE

    • Premiere18Gent International Film Festival12 Oct 2011
    • Theatrical1828 Dec 2011
  • BrazilBR

    • PremiereRio de Janeiro International Film Festival14 Oct 2011
    • Theatrical123 Feb 2012
  • BulgariaBG

    • Theatrical3 Feb 2012
  • ChileCL

    • Theatrical12 Jan 2012
  • ChinaCN

    • PremiereBeijing International Film Festival23 Apr 2012

Frequently asked questions

The Help was released on 9 August 2011.

Audience reviews

5
  • A

    Andres Gomez

    1/24/2014

    9/10

    Great setting, cast, story and performances. A must to be seen.

  • D

    DoryDarko

    2/21/2017

    8/10

    I just watched The Help, almost immediately after finishing the book. Now, when comparing The Film to The Book it was based on (generally speaking), one major rule of thumb almost always applies: The Book is better. The Help is no exception. Accordingly, with the novel still so fresh in the back of my mind, separating my mind from the book in order to enjoy the film was an almost impossible task. No matter how har…

  • K

    Kamurai

    10/3/2020

    8/10

    Great watch, probably won't watch again, and can recommend. To be fair, you should watch this prepared for what it is: a racial suffrage movie. That means that it is filled with racism and unfair strife, and stupid jerks of the elite class that are under the impression that they can still buy and sell people because they do. This is a fantastic movie, but it is a heavy, serious story, and the humor in it b…

  • C

    CinemaSerf

    2/8/2025

    7/10

    I hadn’t quite realised the extent to which racial segregation laws permeated into every day life, especially when a black person couldn't cut a white child’s hair or write anything remotely disparaging about their white brethren. “Skeeter” (Emma Stone) returns from college and decides there might be a way around this. She will write the book, but a selection of women from their Mississippi homes will provide the mea…

  • I

    iuvavum

    8/6/2026

    4/10

    Sound, music, acting, sets, and camera are good in this movie but I do have concerns what the story is saying about african americans. Which is amazing as at its core it's your typical "good" vs "bad" guys story with a bit of romance sprinkled in but somehow manages to still portrait the underdogs good guys (black maids) as terrible people while most actions by the antagonists (white house wives) aren't really that e…

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