The Secret Life of Bees

(Gina Prince-Bythewood):

Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo,
Alicia Keys, Paul Bettany.

Running time: 110 minutes. (15A)

Rating: 3/5

Dakota Fanning is long-limbed now. She's at that painful stage: no longer a child star and not yet an adult actress. On the evidence of The Secret Life of Bees, I suspect she will make the grade. She's vibrant and wide-eyed yet still retains the essential mystery of the movie star. And here she shows a smart reading of the script.

This film, very much a woman's picture, is an adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel. There are times when it is too safe and slushy, but it comes with genuine emotional intelligence. It's set in Alabama in 1964: Fanning's Lily and her best friend, black housekeeper Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), run away from Lily's abusive father (Paul Bettany, much underused) and the simmering racism of their small town. They shore up at a honey farm run by the matronly August Boatwright (Queen Latifah) and her two sisters May (Sophie Okonedo) and June (Alicia Keys), where Lily comes of age.

Parts of the plot seem to rely entirely on female intuition, so there are moments that will forever remain a mystery to me. And there's absolutely no privacy: every time a character undergoes a transformation, she does so in front of a gallery of ladies who nod knowingly and sagely. It's directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood with elegant restraint.