The Secret Life of BeesA touching coming-of-age story of a girl finding her own place and worth. With great characters, great acting, and beautiful photography, this movie deserves Dakota in its lead role.
There is a common theme among other reviews of this movie: "too sappy to
work, but it works anyway." Another common word is "heartwarming." Sounds
cheesy, and works like a charm.
Dakota plays the lead role as Lily Owens, who lives with her violent father
T. Ray, and their black housekeeper Rosaleen. Lily's mother's death is her
most painful memory, as it was Lily who killed her accidentally as a young
child. Rosaleen provides Lily surrogate affection and care, but can't
substitute for her real mother. On top of that, Lily fears her mother never
loved her. Her father, full of anger and pain, won't tell.
It's 1964, and the black people have just been given the right to vote.
Headstrong, Rosaleen decides to exercise her new right, despite the
racially chilly atmosphere of South Carolina. On her way to town, she is
badly beaten by a mob of racist white men, and is taken to the hospital.
Wanting to save Rosaleen from further violence, and willing to leave her
cruel father, Lily helps her escape the hospital. The two leave town and
head for Tiburon, a place about which Lily first learned from the label of
a honey jar owned by her late mother.
 Lily at the funeral of one of the Boatwrights
In Tiburon, they find the house of Boatwrights, where the honey is made,
and are allowed to stay on the honey farm. The three Boatwright sisters,
black women in their 20's and 30's, are independent and respected in their
community. It's an eye-opener for Rosaleen, and for Lily, who has found a
place where she finally feels safe and loved. So begins the real journey of
the movie, to answer the questions of Lily's past, and solve the problems
of the present.
Dakota's role is one of her finest. Her portrayal of Lily is subtle and
touching, with a wide breadth of emotions. Lily is mature and independent,
perhaps having been forced to grow up too fast due to the negligence of her
father. Still, she is a credible and realistic 14-year-old.
All of the black women are interesting and multi-dimensional characters,
each believable despite some extreme sides. With Lily's father it at first
looks like anger and bad temper are all he has, but that facade cracks
early enough. In comparison, Lily seems rather ordinary, largely reacting
to the world around her.
 Lily and August Boatwright The racial conflicts of the era frame most of the film's concrete events.
The treatment isn't too heavy-handed, but has impact. The most emotional
events however are those involving Lily, and her pain of feeling unloved
and unlovable. One of the subplots involving Lily is a romantic
relationship with a black boy who is several years older. The movie focuses
mostly on the societal reaction to the relationship, but I suspect the book gives
much more insight into Lily's thoughts on this matter, as well as others.
The Blu-ray disc has an audio commentary track, with Dakota as one of the
commentators. Better commentaries do exist, but I still appreciated it,
especially as the movie is so pleasant to look at.
I enjoyed Dakota's performance a great deal. She is composed and confident
by nature, and this role allows her to play a character a fair bit like
herself in those regards. She also brought out tears more than once. The
role is clearly among Dakota's best.
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Dakota Fanning
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![[bio]](/images/common/biography.png "More about Dakota"){kind=small}
