Synopsis
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Dakota FanningLily Owens
- Queen LatifahAugust Boatwright
- Jennifer HudsonRosaleen Daise
- Alicia KeysJune Boatwright
- Sophie OkonedoMay Boatwright
- Paul BettanyT. Ray Owens
- Hilarie BurtonDeborah Owens
- Tristan Mack WildsZach Taylor
- Nate ParkerNeil
- Shondrella AveryGreta
Recommendations
- 88
ReelViews
The other actress to stand out is, unsurprisingly, Queen Latifa, whose intense screen presence makes her a force to be reckoned with even when she's simply standing in the background, not saying anything. - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
Above all, it contains characters I care for, played by actors I admire. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
An affecting ensemble piece that's destined to generate a fair share of awards-season buzz. - 67
The A.V. Club
It's pleasant and often touching, and the well-chosen cast sells what little drama they get, but there's no depth and little affect, and every would-be conflict peters out noncommittally. - 50
Variety
Like a mouthful of honey, The Secret Life of Bees is cloyingly sweet and gooey, and you're not quite sure you can swallow it undiluted. - 50
Village Voice
Only near the end does this likable but saccharine movie fleetingly complicate the "Gone With the Wind"–fed delusion that the love of poor, black nannies for their white charges was undiluted by bitterness. - 50
Entertainment Weekly
The Secret Life of Bees is a lesson -- or, rather, a whole series of them -- we no longer need to learn. Of course, it's also a divine-sisterhood-defeats-all chick flick, and on that score there's no denying that its clichés are rousingly up to date. - 50
Austin Chronicle
Generally works like a drone but sometimes provides glimpses of the queens at the center
