A few characters, like Skeeter's ailing mother (Allison Janney), are given a trajectory from
racial obliviousness to semi-enlightenment, but for the most part, whites in this movie are either pure - of - heart crusaders or sneering bigots.
Particularly notable are the obsession with technology and surveillance from Benny's Video, here updated from VHS to smartphones and the Internet; the
racial suspicion of Code Unknown; the revenge nightmare from Hidden; the euthanasia theme from Amour (which also featured Trintignant and Huppert as father and daughter, suggesting a sequel of sorts), as well as more general themes of family dysfunction and the
obliviousness of the well - to - do towards immigrants — it's no coincidence that the film takes place in Calais, yet never once shows the Migrant Jungle.