5. The Long Walk Home (Odessa Carter)
Before The Help there was this historical drama starring Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek as a maid and her employer, respectively. Taking place during the Montgomery Bus Boycotts of the 1950s, Whoopi Goldberg’s character, Odessa, has to walk to work due to the strike, and Sissy Spacek’s character, Miriam, drives Odessa to and from work on certain days, even despite the racial tension in the rest of the state.
Of course this spills out to both of their home lives, and it’s here that Whoopi Goldberg really shines as the proud, but frustrated mother and employee trying to keep it all together. Sure, there is a bit of a white savior angle to the film, but this movie was in 1990. What else do you expect? At least Whoopi Goldberg is still a gem in the performance.
