Review: The Secret Life of Bees

By Leland Spencer

When your favorite novel gets made into a movie for the big screen, going to see it is a combination of exciting and scary. Exciting because you get to see a wonderful story told in a new medium, but scary because you worry that the director, screenplay writer, or actors might have changed something you loved about the story.

I don't write in second person very often, and maybe I shouldn't have here. Perhaps those are my areas of excitement and fear, not yours. In any case, that's what I was feeling when I went to see The Secret Life of Bees. I've thought for five years--ever since I read the book--that it would make a great movie. I'm glad to say that I was right. I think this is a case where the book and the film are complementary; I cannot say I like one better than the other, and I'm glad to report that I don't feel one ruins the other. They're both great.

The movie and book tell the story of Lilly Owens, a teenager who runs away from her abusive father to find answers about her late mother. Along the way, she learns lessons about courage, hope, and love. I won't say more because I don't want to spoil the plot. I want you to see the movie and read the book, if you haven't already.

See the movie, and take a friend or two along. This is not a movie to see alone because it is about love, hospitality, and reconciliation. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll want to give someone a hug.

If I have one complaint about the movie, it is that the role of feminine spirituality is downplayed relative to the book. Most people probably won't mind, but one of the reasons I liked the book so much was that the characters are unashamedly feminist theologians. If you leave the movie hungry for more development on the characters' spirituality, definitey read the novel.

My favorite line in the book (delivered with perfection in the film by Queen Latifah) is "Every little thing wants to be loved." If you leave the movie with one idea, this is it, and what a beautiful theme it is!