Jessica Chastain wants more adventures with her and Octavia Spencer’s characters from The Help.
According to Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist podcast, Chastain said that she often thinks about what her character Celia Foote would be up to with her friend (and maid) Minny Jackson.
“You know who I think about all the time, and I just wish I could play her [again]? Celia Foote. I just want to do something, Celia and Minny, and see what happened. You know they ended up living together and raising the baby together, they were best friends,” she said. “How amazing would that film be? I loved her, and I got to be a bit silly.” She also added that she felt “so happy” playing Celia in the film.
While some fans of the film might agree with wanting to see more of Celia and Minny, the concept would become inherently problematic if it played out in a real film. Why? Because Minny is still in a subordinate, subservient position, regardless of how friendly she and Celia are. Celia still has the upper hand in the power dynamic and still controls the narrative, despite Celia being nice and loving towards Minny.
Even though Celia and Minny’s relationship is one of the best shown in the film, it is still evidence of the film’s white savior mentality, in which Celia “saves” Minny by allowing her to keep working at her home despite Minny creating that “chocolate” pie for her former employer, Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard).
However, since the film was produced in part by Oprah Winfrey and was a hit for its time, there is bound to be a group of fans who would love to see a sequel featuring Celia and Minny, regardless of the power dynamics at play.