The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 136
Fresh: 79 | Rotten: 57
The Secret Life of Bees has moments of charm, but is largely too maudlin and sticky-sweet.
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 12
The Secret Life of Bees has moments of charm, but is largely too maudlin and sticky-sweet.
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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 110,589
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Movie Info
Gina Prince-Bythewood's adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Secret Life of Bees stars Dakota Fanning as Lily, a 14-year-old growing up in a small Southern town in 1964. She is haunted by memories of shooting her mother when she was a young girl. Lily lives with her emotionally distant father, and her best friend is their African-American housekeeper Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson). After locals beat Rosaleen for attempting to register as a voter, and Lily's dad goes one step too far during an
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Cast
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Dakota Fanning
Lily Owens -
Jennifer Hudson
Rosaleen Daise -
Queen Latifah
August Boatwright -
Sophie Okonedo
May Boatwright -
Alicia Keys
June Boatwright -
Paul Bettany
T. Ray Owens -
Tristan Wilds
Zachary Taylor -
Hilarie Burton
Deborah Owens -
Nate Parker
Neil
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The Secret Life of Bees Trailer & Photos
All Critics (139) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (80) | Rotten (57) | DVD (2)
There's a purity, clarity and honesty to this feminist heart-warmer's melodramatic instincts that make it surprisingly moving and satisfying.
Top CriticThe filmmakers give Latifah and Fanning room to create characters that breathe in the sweet smell of clover and breathe out the contented sigh of independence.
Sweat and good intentions, however, will take you only so far. And they take Bees right up to the threshold of entertaining%u2014but not one step further.
The honey runs thick in The Secret Life of Bees, and so does the treacle.
It's hard to roll your eyes when they're full of tears.
The film is full of sweet, subtle touches.
All the pieces are there for a good movie but there's an undeniable sense of reluctance to put them into play. Every time it seems like the film might be taking a chance it retreats to safe ground.
A sweet, sentimental story with a sting in the tail.
Can I tell you a secret? This movie is *really* good. Grab Nana and go see it!
Bees is almost too sweet, but with enduring enough performances to make a solid movie.
(...) Hay un mérito atendible en la directora y es evitar caer en la sensiblería barata que el asunto arriesgaba.
The story is a gentle depiction of harsh times that works best as a coming-of-age parable, not so well as a historical drama.
Once again, Dakota Fanning demonstrates that, even as a teenager, she already has the acting skills and range equal to -- if not better than -- her A-list contemporaries.
Glossy yet ultimately shallow, this platitudinous, unconvincing drama makes The Colour Purple look like Mississippi Burning.
On most levels the film, which has a surprising number of unconvincing details, takes the sugary option; it shies away from the harsher realities whenever possible.
A dense story about a little girl and the impact her mother's death has on her makes terrific cinema in this beautifully realised film
The film has a dream-like quality above its punchy emotional core
Smart and sentimental but not syrupy, with a well-executed script guaranteed to leave you in tears.
The Secret Life of Bees features another buzz-worthy turn by Dakota Fanning.
The source material remains affecting and the cast work hard to add dimension to a lacklustre screenplay. But sadly, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
Audience Reviews for The Secret Life of Bees
Super Reviewer
read the rest of the review at themoviefreakblog.com
Super Reviewer
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- August Boatwright: That was May's doing. When we went to the paint shop, she latched on to a color called, "Caribbean Pink." She said it made her feel like dancing a Spanish Flamenco. I personally thought it was the tackiest color I had ever seen, but I figured if it could lift May's heart, it was good enough to live in.
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Foreign Titles
- Die Bienenhüterin (DE)
Lily Owens is a troubled young girl in the search for answers about her mother. Feeling unwanted and abandoned she runs with the one person that shows her kindness and love. Her nanny/housekeeper Rosaleen. Their journey leads to August. From there the mystery of what happened to Lily's mother unravels.
I really enjoyed the sad tale and I look forward to reading the book."