Lee Daniels' last blockbuster hit "Precious" recieved an Oscar nomination for Best Picture of the Year in 2010. His latest film "Lee Daniels' The Butler" most certainly deserves the same prestigious recognition in 2013, and hopefully will win.

Written by Danny Strong, "The Butler" is inspired by the real-life story of Eugene Allen, an African American man who worked as a butler in the White House during eight presidential administrations. For history buffs, that overview might be compelling enough to woo you to the theatre, but the film is so much more. It is a work of art.

"The Butler" begins with a young Cecil Gaines (as the film's butler is named), growing up as a slave on a cotton farm in the deep south. After witnessing a pattern of violence in the fields, Cecil is moved into the mainhouse training under the lady of the manor to become an indoor servant. 

Outfitted in a vest, tie and gloves, young Cecil is trained as a butler, paving the way for what eventually will become a relatively fruitful career serving the country's elite.

Finally earning himself a coveted position as part of the White House butler staff, Cecil builds a career as a silent and dutiful servant to the men overseeing a racially-torn nation.

Cecil Gaines is played by Forest Whitaker, a role for which he will most certainly receive a bevy of award nominations.

Cecil's wife, a key figure in the film, is played by Oprah Winfrey. Slightly precocious, and highly passionate, Gloria Gaines serves as the matriarch of their family of two growing sons in Washington, DC. She longs to know about Cecil's job in the White House- and grows increasingly alienated and left out of Cecil's elite and shrouded work life. After her eldest son goes to Fisk College in Tennessee and joins the Freedom Riders movement, her sense of powerless peaks and leads to a period of excessive drunkenness and strained family relations. 

Based on a true story, "Lee Daniels' The Butler" confronts slavery and violent racism head-on. There is nothing sugar-coated or idealized about the struggles of blacks in 20th century America in this film. And yet, somehow, Daniels conveys this turbulent history without reducing the audience to abject depression. 

"The Butler" not only reflects, but encompasses the civil rights struggle that persisted in our country for decades. The sit-ins, the plight of Martin Luther King Jr., the emergence of the Black Panther movement, the birth of the Vietnam War and rise of anti-Vietnam war efforts. This film touches on each of these history-changing movements-and the reactionary politics of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Reagan, respectively. 

On the whole, "The Butler" is an extremely moving film that invites both laughter and tears, outrage and pride. 

Whitaker is fantastic as Cecil, just as Winfrey is fully captivating as his wife, Gloria. She is a wife and mother powerless to influence or participate in the lives of her husband and sons. She is nevertheless a strong character, providing both tear-jerking and humorous reality checks.

The film moves at a perfect pace, never falling into the doldrums of darkness that often accompanies difficult subject matter. Though a drama through and through, "The Butler" is accented by great period music from the 1950's through the disco era, fantastic costumes and hobbies of eras past. 

Subtly star-studded, the film is a melange of people the audience may or may not recognize immediately. Robin Williams appears as President Eisenhower. Cuba Gooding Junior plays a prominent role as the head butler in the White House. Jane Fonda makes a cameo as a convincing Nancy Reagan-not immediately identifiable as Fonda, in my opinion. Yes, that is Mariah Carey as Gaines' abused mother, and Lenny Kravitz as Gaines' fellow White House butler James Holloway, and a few others which shall remain surprises. But this film is not about modern celebrity.

It is about the incredible story of a family's experience in the throes of the civil rights movement. It is about our country's historical past and the politics of the families and political leaders on which our modern society was built. The film boldly reiterates how far the nation has come in just one century- emerging, finally, from a system of slavery and bitter segregation.

James Marsden is solid as JFK. But the depiction of the issues relevant to race and struggle during his presidency are even more compelling. Through the juxtaposition of Cecil and his presidents, the pivotal social and human rights issues of the 20th century are powerfully illuminated. 

Indeed, the consistent use of side-by-side comparisons of characters throughout the film helps to shine a beacon of light on deep discrepancies and inequalities.

"Lee Daniels' The Butler" charts an incredible (and personal) American story. For providing an imperative review of the struggle for racial equality in the US, this film should be required viewing for everyone in the US. 

"Lee Daniels' The Butler" opened in theaters on August 13. The film is rated PG-13 and is playing in theaters nationwide. 

For theaters and showtimes for "The Butler" in Los Angeles, click here. 

Watch the trailer below:

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