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Lee Daniels, Precious
12/01/2009 When a film comes along that grabs hold of you and effects you so deeply you nearly forget you’re watching moving images on a screen, you know you’re witnessing something special. The Sundance crowd seems to have thought Precious was such a film, presenting it with their prestigious Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize award, as well as a special trophy for Mo’Nique’s fierce performance. It looks like they were right on the money. Interested moviegoers should know, though, this isn’t a film for the faint of heart. It’s a traumatic viewing experience that doesn’t pull any punches; it rarely waits for you to catch your breath before it beats you up again. Brutal and relentless as it may be, the film presents a story that should be told, and one that, if done right, can only be shown in the rawest way possible. The story begins in high school, with Clareece ‘Precious’ Jones (Gabourney Sidibe) daydreaming about her teacher. Periodically, the film will get inside her head and show us what she’s thinking, typically while something much worse takes place. It’s not only an effective cinematic device, it keeps the movie from being bogged down by all the horrible things happening around it. Sibide is instantly likable. She’s so natural in the role that it seems strange to watch her during interviews, where you see this confident and articulate person speak about the film, not the mumbling, unmotivated student who only seems capable of communicating with herself in her head. Precious is summoned to the principal’s office, where it is revealed that she’s pregnant with her second child. We find out later that both children are the products of a rape, with the perpetrator being none other than Precious’ own father. Precious may have problems with her family, her weight and, occasionally, her temper, but she’s still an intelligent young woman who doesn’t deserve to completely forfeit her right to an education. And that’s what brings Precious’ principal to her home, offering her a chance to continue to learn in a different environment. This also introduces us to the beast that is Precious’ mom, Mary (Mo’Nique). Mary, also overweight, is a cigarette-smoking force of nature that seems to exist only to torment her daughter and call her every kind of degrading name she can think of in the span of a conversation. I won’t get into the details of her actions, but some of Mary’s worst offenses include the use of frying pans, television sets and even babies. Mary would appear to be a monstrous, vile person incapable of warranting any audience sympathy. That changes somewhat as the film begins to wrap up, showcasing Mary as a conflicted, unloved woman whose utter hate for her own daughter seems to be an almost involuntary reaction to the aforementioned sexual abuse. There isn’t much else to say about Mo’Nique’s performance that hasn’t already been said. She will knock you out with her turn here, and likely even scare you where you sit. When the movie was shown in Sundance, I heard very little talk of Mo’Nique being nominated for an Oscar. I only heard talk of her winning. I can’t imagine anyone else topping her. When Precious finally does decide to attend the new school program, she meets Blu Rain (Paula Patton), a kind but determined teacher who has an immediate liking to Precious. Her main objective is ensuring that the students are constantly writing, no matter the circumstances in their lives. Patton’s acted in several other films before with big-name stars, but she’s never done anything this memorable. Also noteworthy are Lenny Kravitz as the male nurse who attends to Precious after the birth of her second child, and Mariah Carey as the caseworker who stands between Mary and her welfare checks. You actually wish you could see more of Carey, who’s surprisingly natural in her role sans makeup. Comments [post a comment]Comments are closed |
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Friday, September 03, 2010
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