Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s, and the times they are a-changin’. In a period of political unrest and social upheaval, The Help is a story of injustice, friendship and hope. Skeeter (Emma Stone) is a recent graduate of Ole Miss, and desperately wants to be a writer. When she returns home to Jackson, she lands a job at the local paper, answering ladies’ queries about how to chop onions without tearing up, and the best ways to get stains out of their husbands’ shirts. Funnily enough, this work doesn’t quite satisfy the intelligent Miss Phelan, who begins to hanker after something else to write about. When her childhood friend, Miss Hilly (played by a flawless Bryce Dallas Howard) starts a vindictive campaign to build bathrooms in all white homes so that “the Help” will not spread “their diseases to the children,” Skeeter asks a maid called Aibileen (Viola Davis) if she will help her to write a book about the degradation these women are subjected to. Initially scared to lose her job, Aibileen soon realises that a whole community could benefit from a few raised voices.

The result is a surprisingly feel-good tale of courage and growth. Skeeter, Aibileen and their friend Minny (Octavia Spencer) - a witty, spirited woman who struggles to keep a job because she insists on using the same bathroom as the family she serves - bring together maids from all over Jackson to tell the stories of their own lives and the people they serve. Be warned; it’s a tearjerker - you won’t leave this film with dry eyes, and it’s full of laughs too. Perhaps this is the problem though; The Help is heartwarming and sentimental, but it lacks subtlety, never challenging the stereotypes that the characters seem to be informed by. You may feel like what you’re watching, you already know, which is a strange sensation when you’ve never been to Mississippi - much less four decades ago. Still, the costumes and set design are impeccable, and the talented cast do a good job of propping up a lengthy and slightly underwhelming family drama.