The Secret Life of Bees

The preternaturally gifted Dakota Fanning registers solidly as a traumatized teen who lives with three African-American sisters in this schmaltzy but earnest drama based on a best-selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd. After escaping her abusive father (Paul Bettany), 14-year-old Lily travels with her housekeeper Rosaleen (Dreamgirl’s Jennifer Hudson), seeking refuge at a bee farm owned by siblings August (Queen Latifah), June (Alicia Keys) and May (Sophie Okonedo). Lily learns the honey business and finds out firsthand what it’s like to be black in the pre-Civil Rights Act 1964 South. The three sisters are broadly sketched, but Keys stands out as a strong-willed civil-rights activist, the one sister immune to Lily’s elfin charm. Melodrama rears its head several times, but director Gina Prince-Bythewood maintains her focus on the interaction between the women, so the exaggerated situations don’t exact too heavy a toll on this generally pleasing story.

Shelf Talk: The Best Ensemble Acting winner at the Hollywood Film Festival, Bees is likely to score other nominations during awards season, which will still be underway when this title streets. Keys and Latifah are likely to draw some cross-over business from their music fanbase, but the recent publicity surrounding the tragic slaying of Hudson’s family members also could attract interest from those not so familiar with this relative newcomer.