A gracefully restrained Forest Whitaker brings to life the 34-year career of a White House butler

Lee Daniels uses his sugar-sweet style to show how one man overcame severe adversity to land the privileged job of a White House butler

White House butler Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) in a scene from Lee Daniels' film The Butler.

The Butler (M)

Rating: 3 stars

Director: Lee Daniels (Precious)

Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey

"You hear nothing. You see nothing. You only serve."

This was the mantra by which Cecil Gaines lived his entire adult life. The Butler is his story, told in a sugar-sweet style bound to help the movie to gain traction come Oscars time.

Allen grew up on a cotton plantation, and overcame severe adversity to land his privileged job. What this admirable man truly shares in common with the character of Cecil Gaines probably wouldn't stand up to close scrutiny.

However, the themes examined by The Butler - particularly those concerning America's problematic past when it comes to race relations - are worth revisiting and thinking about throughout.

Gaines comes to life vividly in the picture thanks to a gracefully restrained performance by Forest Whitaker. In other hands, Gaines - who becomes a silent witness to the best and worst decisions made by eight consecutive US Presidents - might have wound up as Forrest Gump in a dinner suit.

Whitaker keeps proceedings on an even keel throughout, an achievement not to be underestimated by anyone familiar with The Butler's director, Lee Daniels. Let's just say you won't be finding subtlety listed on his resume in this lifetime.

The cast of The Butler is diverse, to say the very least. Some might even say some sections of the ensemble are more of a distraction than anything else.

With so many famous US Presidents to be depicted, there were bound to be some risky choices made. I mean, Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower? That's a tough one for a lot of people to go along with (he does quite OK, by the way).

Alan Rickman's Ronald Reagan is outstanding, as is Liev Schreiber as Lyndon Johnson. John Cusack as Richard Nixon struggles somewhat. James Marsden as John F. Kennedy is out of his league.

Some of the most credible and moving acting comes from TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey as Gaines' wife, a recovering alcoholic.

The Butler was inspired by a Washington Post article on Eugene Allen, who served as head butler at the White House for 34 years.