A meaningful glimpse into the racism that haunted the prejudicial times of the 1960s manages to permeate the sticky sweet The Secret Life of Bees. Adapted from Sue Monk Kidd’s 2002 bestselling novel of the same name, the film transports the viewer to South Carolina in 1964, only days before the Civil Rights Act was passed.

The movie begins with 14-year-old Lily, played by Dakota Fanning, awakening from a flashback memory of accidentally shooting her mother. Lily’s life is pretty dismal. She lives with her abusive father, T. Ray (Paul Bettany), and her only real friend is the hired help (read: mammy), Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson).

The Secret Life of Bees is a story about self-discovery and the complicated nature of love. Tired of being abused and seeking answers about her dead mother, Lily with mammy-in-tow, heads to Tiburon, South Carolina, to locate clues about her mother’s past.

In the small Southern town, Lily and Rosaleen uncover information about Lily’s mom and discover the world of three beekeeping sisters, August (Queen Latifah), May (Sophie Okonedo) and June (Alicia Keys) Boatwright. It’s a world that Rosaleen later described as where “the outside don’t come in.”

Safe from her abusive father, Lily finds comfort and love with August and the other Boatwright sisters. Lily says, “I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.” The somewhat idealized matriarch, August, gives Lily her heart and a couple of lessons on life, love and beekeeping. She tells Lily: “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be an idiot. Don’t swat the bees. And to send the bees love because everything wants to be loved.”

The need to be loved and the power of self-discovery are strong themes throughout the movie and encapsulate Lily’s story. “After bringing the outside in,” several characters, even Rosaleen, undergo transformation through self-discovery and the love of others.

The honey-sweet plot isn’t completely predictable and provides a look into the racism and prejudice of the 1960s. While many of the movie’s problematic racial incidents were solved a little too easily, Bees aptly showcases the complicated relationships between blacks and whites, the help and the helped.

Dakota Fanning’s performance as Lily is captivating—bringing to life a character that is simultaneously endearing, sad, hopeful, openhearted and a bit naïve. Fanning’s portrayal of Lily has the audience rooting for her character to solve the “mother puzzle” and get some love. Queen Latifah, as August, uses her best and most believable Southern accent. Yet, as a matriarch, she’s almost too perfect. Alicia Keys, playing a stubborn woman who almost let love slip away, and Sophie Okonedo, portraying the most challenging sister, May, whose big heart causes her to suffers emotionally are both stellar.

As the title reveals, Lily discovers herself, love and life’s stings. And while uncovering the love of her dead birth mother, she gains the love of three mothers in the Boatwright sisters.

Although the movie is a little “honey” sweet at times, it outshined its sappiness with great acting, heartwarming scenes, memorable writing and an vantage point into the troubled times of the 1960s.

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