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Behind every president is an entire staff that helps make the executive branch possible. One consistent presence across multiple administrations was Eugene Allen, a butler who worked in the White House for decades. A facsimile of Allen is the subject of the 2013 historical drama “The Butler,” starring Forest Whitaker as White House butler Cecil Gaines. Hired to work at the White House during the Eisenhower administration, Gaines serves multiple presidents before resigning during the Reagan administration.
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Whitaker is joined by a stacked cast, with everyone from Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower to Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, as the film follows Gaines’ life and career progress for much of the 20th century. However, the true standout really is Whitaker, who brings an understated humanity while Gaines works, cutting loose with the emotional drama of the butler’s home life. A quiet examination of the White House and the presidents who inhabited it from the perspective of its noble and dedicated help, “The Butler” is an engaging tour of American history.
