Jett M
A young girl runs away from her hometown to find another family far away from her abusive father– and she got just that,, more than that, even.
Personally, I prefer the book over the movie– there's just this element of emotion and melancholy that the movie just can't quite capture in the same way that the book is able to. I do, however, recommend the movie for people who have a hard time being able to sit all the way through a book— like me.
In the book, the main character is portrayed as a sweet, charismatic 14-year-old girl who strives to experience a life that isn't held and controlled ever turn by her father, T. Ray.
Honestly, I thought that Lily would dress a little more child-like in the movie, as I feel it would fit her personality a lot more,, for example; wearing colorful, patterned dresses or overalls. I honestly expected her hair to be darker, and shorter, and I expected her to be chubbier. In the book, she's a lot more immature, for example; when she first met the beekeepers and lied to them about her family.
I think this makes the book better than the movie because she's portrayed as a lot more immature and emotional– whereas in the movie she has less character to her.
In the book,, they only mentioned the Mary statue briefly, whereas in the movie they actually showed it and had an entire scene based off of it. This changed my understanding of the movie because it gave me more insight into what the statue was meant for and what it represented to them. This also affected the storyline because she goes back to the statue later and puts her hand on the heart of it in the movie. For this reason specifically, in this instance, I think the movie is better,, but overall I'd say the book is better.
In the movie, after Rosaleen and Lily have a fight, Rosaleen goes in the creek to bathe– but this part wasn't shown in the movie to my knowledge. In the book, Rosaleen is bathing in the creek and Lily goes in the water with her and they apologize to each other. This affected the way I saw the book and the characters because they grew a closer relationship in that time in the book. This also affected the storyline because it made them closer to each other.
For this reason, and a few others, I think the book is better.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/23/23
Full Review
Arianna V
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.
In class we were given the choice of what book to read and watch, the book and movie I had chosen were The Secret Life of Bees. This story is about a little girl named Lily Owens who left her toxic household to find out more about her deceased mother, Lily is convinced her mother had other reasons why she left in the first place and Lily is making it her duty to figure out these reasons so she can no longer blame herself. Though both the movie and book were beautifully written and played, I would recommend the movie if you are looking for a better understanding of the characters, how they're portrayed throughout the story, and how they grow from beginning to end.
While reading the book, I was under the impression that Lily Owens was at least mixed. In my mind her mother was black, once I had seen the movie, Lily was a small, blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl. This made the story overall, more interesting and the movie better because she eventually moves in with 3 black beekeeping sisters, June, August, and May Boatwright, that take her and Rosaleen under their wing and treats Lily like a sister of their own. You can tell that the beekeeping sisters love Lily and Rosaleen when they all agreed to not throw them out even after they find out Lily's sob story was a hoax, they knew that if they sent them home they'd get mistreated by T-Ray, Lilys drunken father. "Lily can have a home here for as long as she wants." This is what August said after T-Ray showed up at the house to take Lily home. This made the movie more appealing to me because it provided a better view of how the characters differ and how they look.
When comparing the movie to the book certain scenes are written differently than what I had watched in the movie. One example is when the girls are running into the house with Pie pans over their heads to protect their hair, in the movie the girls did not use pie pans and instead ran with nothing. Unfortunately, I really liked reading this part of the book, so I wish that it had not been left out.
After watching the movie, I noticed that some scenes were not like the book, potentially making it difficult to choose the movie over the book. One example is when T-Ray started getting violent with Lily when she refused to go back home with him. In the movie, T-Ray was not happy that she wanted to stay but didn't lash out as far as the book portrayed him to.. This made me think to have some sympathy for T-Ray's character and how in the movie they let him be more subtle, for this reason, I would choose the movie over the book
Overall, this story is very heartwarming and a good portrayal of what it was like back then for colored women and what it's like to be in an unstable home as a child. Although both the movie and book bring awareness to these topics, I believe that the movie can provide a better understanding whether that would be with the characters or the overall message that the story brings.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Adelynn M
I read the book "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd and watched the movie "The Secret Life of Bees" directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The plot is focused on Lily, a fourteen-year-old white girl, who lives with her abusive father whom she calls T. Ray When her nanny and only friend Rosaleen gets arrested for confronting three racists, Lily decides to break Rosaleen out of jail. Together they run away to where Lily suspects her mother once spent time. I recommend the book over the movie.
The main character of "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd is Lilly Owens, a fourteen-year-old girl who lost her mother when she was young; she in the book is portrayed as a strong girl looking for answers about her mother. Lilly looks a lot younger in the movie than I envisioned.
In the movie, Lilly tells Zach that she is a runaway before she tells anyone else. In the book, Lilly asks August to tell Zach after she finally tells August at the end of the book. This adds to our understanding of the relationship between Lilly and Zach, how Lilly trusts Zach with the secret and asks for his advice, showing how much she values Zach's opinions. Or this reason, I recommend watching the movie and reading the book.
The movie leaves out the scene of Rosaleen and Lilly bathing in the river after they escaped Silvin. I believe the director chose to leave out this scene to preserve the modesty of the characters. This changed the storyline because we didn't get to hear Lilly's monologue as Rosaleen waited out into the water. For this reason, I recommend reading the book to fully understand the relationship between Lilly and Rosaleen.
The book and movie are valuable in diverse ways, so I recommend reading the book and then watching the movie.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Christian N
This is a movie based wholly off of the book. It follows it directly, which makes it well written, but cobbled together and at times a bit strange. However, the story is good with likable characters and unexpected events. The end is well done, with every aspect of the story concluded in a way leaving the audience satisfied, especially myself, who found my respect for the film rising as a result of a few clever lines not included in the book. Solid movie adaption. Any fan of the book would likely be a fan of the movie.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
06/16/22
Full Review
Audience Member
Warning Will Smith movie! This should have been called The Secret Life of B Minus.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
anabel g
It brought me into a reality I have only guessed at; black women making a real life in the deep south in the waning days of Jim Crow. The plot did drag at times; wish there had been a bit more happening with the bees and their keeper. But the stress of living under Jim Crow, the oppressiveness of the society that they survived, even thrived, in was always there, informing so much of the film and the plot
Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning are excellent and believable in every scene. Sophie Okonedo simply was the troubled and damaged May. There were times when I wished to see more nuanced reactions from some of the actors, and a few scenes that I wish had been more fully developed; the director could have allowed more silences for the actors to explore the emotions called for in the script.
On the whole, however, the film kept me engaged and gave me a deeper understanding of a culture and society that is different from the MidWestern world I grew up in.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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