PRECIOUS a review
May 28th 2010 04:20
Precious official poster (copyright see below)
A multi award winning and nominated film, by director Lee Daniels, (who also directed Shadow Boxer and produced Monster’s Ball); based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire, screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher, starring Gabourey Sidibe, as Precious, and Mo'Nique as her mother Mary, the film deals with child sexual assault, physical abuse and emotional abuse.
The subject matter of the film is tough, and there is no flinching away from it in the film, however, this does not mean it will disengage the audience because of the horror and discomfort it will cause, rather, it pulls you into the world of a marginalised girl, taunted and isolated in her peer group, who is also the brutalised victim of her own family.
The acting, and style of the film, is not over-blighted with ‘Hollywood’ style artifice, which is a credit to the designer, costume designer, cinematographer, editor and director, all of whom worked in careful occluded technical symphony, in order for the story to reveal itself, as if we too were living each day in this disturbing world. With the technical side mostly taking a backseat, you become engrossed in the life of a girl called Precious; the extraordinary natural acting ability, of Sidibe, makes her character so believable it feels like a documentary, set within an unnatural and unbelievably awful existence.
Precious is a large girl, made fat through her mother’s domineering control, she is made to think she is useless, dumb and should leave school and get welfare. Precious is 16 years old, and is pregnant with her second baby, the result of abuses committed by her mother’s boyfriend, since the age of three.
It is shocking to contemplate and as we see Precious cope, through her own internal devices of imagination, she escapes the hurt and trauma of her world by creating, when emotionally needed, a fantasy where she is loved and adored, she is a star, with a gorgeous man who loves her. It is these fantasy escapes where the director reveals his hand, yet it does not disrupt or seem out of place, it actually serves to sharpen the hard reality of the world Precious lives in.
Sidibe’s performance becomes all the more amazing when you learn, through the special features added on the DVD, that Gabourey Sidibe created a different voice to use as Precious and a different fixed facial expression, which she delivers with such expertise, you believe that is how the actor actually looks in real life. This amazing revelation is reinforced, when you find out that Sidibe lives in the area the film was set in, Harlem/Bronx, and this is her first film! Sidibe’s friends told her she should go for the audition, the production kept calling her back, and you see one of her auditions, the tears and anguish look real.
Mo’Nique, who plays Precious’s monstrous mother Mary, stated in her interview that they both could draw from their own life experiences, being called fat and other more abusive names when young. The difference between the two, as director Daniels points out, is that Sidibe cannot take off her ‘actor’s clothes’ at the end of the day, for she lives there, amongst the hard daily grind of existence, taunts and all.
Author Sapphire, who also supported the screen playwright Geoffrey Fletcher and Daniels in developing the film, based her novel PUSH on an amalgamation of young women and teens she got to know through her teaching in the area, which is why, at no time, does the film seem contrived or melodramatic, it takes you on a ride that never wanes, never fails to command your attention, and delivers a punch that stays with you long after the film has finished.
Screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher, comes from a privileged background, and was initially apporached by Daniels for funding for the film. Fletcher mentioned that he was a writer, so Daniles read soem of hsi work and wanted him to write Precious. Sapphire, along with Daniels and the leads as well, helped Fletcher create a more natural and realisitic language for the characters.
Mo’Nique is brilliant, as the monster mother; the abusive language, the violence, the emotional manipulation, the unending dominance and the total absence of a maternal, protective and nurturing instinct, long extinguished by her own egoistic sociopathy, makes the character she plays without any redeeming qualities whatsoever. It took gumption to play that role yet, Mo’Nique, who is better known as a light hearted comic, took the challenge and delivered a bravura performance, for which she deservedly won an Academy Award Oscar™.
I also thought Gabriel Sidibe deserved to win her nomination for an Oscar; such was the power of her presence and the subtle sophistication of her skill in performance.
I must say, at no time did I see the famous talent behind their characters; Mo’Nique, Lennie Kravitz and Mariah Carey, all gave great performances that caused one to disengage from their famous identities, so we could see them just as the character they were portraying. This is not only a compliment for those performers, but for the director too.
Lee Daniels trod the fine line, of breaking the audience’s suspension of disbelief, when he wove the moments of fantasy into the film, yet, with each one you went with it, there was a perfect sense to it, they enhanced the complexity of the victim, Precious, and how she coped with the most dreadful betrayal that life can throw at you.
There was a ‘normalcy’, if I can use that description, to what you saw, never did you feel manipulated by direction, never did the dialogue sound contrived. In fact, his abilities as a director may have served against him, Oscar winning wise, for his role was absorbed by the events on the screen and you almost forgot there was a technical side to the film, as you lived moment to moment with the protagonists.
The life of Precious is a hard won battle, and she does win, but at great cost. At the end, once the terrible emotional tempest has abated, we see Precious walk from the storm into the sunshine of her new life, to nurture and cherish her babies.
It is harrowing and it is extraordinary, it is one of those works of cinematic excellence that will not only endure, but will open doors of hope, and give the impetus for those suffering today to challenge that which oppresses them, to rise and learn, thrive and succeed.
It is those sentiments that Gabriel Sidibe, Sapphire and the director Lee Daniels expressed that the film does for all those still suffering who see it.
I think I should begin my own Awards, so why not now?
A special category for Inspirational films!
I will call the organization, the Society of Internet Critics Film Awards©, (ICFA).
The major category will be Inspirational; films that show endeavour overcoming adversity which inspires hope for those suffering, from oppression of any kind.
I name the virtual trophy, the Stellar!
The reason, two fold; my dear pug was named Stella, she was faithful and loving and gentle, yet was defenceless and so needed protection from other people and animals, the other reason, because the word stellar refers to a sun, a shining purity in a sea of blackness, a star which is the nurturer of life, and of course, it also means brilliant, as in a stellar performance.
This film Precious, will be the first film awarded the Stellar.
Hopefully, I will get some other critics to join in, so we can have a proper assessment board and evaluate nominations, the winner receiving the most votes. Eventually, we could expand the categories, along the same lines, for instance; films that expose the truth behind the facade of corporate, or government, lies, etc.
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Mountain Fog
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
I still have trouble with the fact the Oprah Winfrey is involved in this
But I will check it out - thanks for the great and very detailed review
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
tanx for the comp and,
it isn't a relentlessly grim experience, there are uplifting moments, and it ends on a positive note. Mercifully, the director used the fantasy episodes to deliver not only Precious, but also the audience, from the gmost ruesome assaults.
It is definitely worth the DVD hire.
cheers
fog
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
tanx for the comp,
and don't even think about the ever self promoting Winfrey, she came on board more as a promoter/producer and had nothing to do with the actual creative process, and she isn't in the film.
It is a must see, I think anyway.
cheers
fog
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I still haven't gone near this one. Not for the grim tone, which i embrace but that it just looked like it simplified the issues and deliberately tugs at the heart. From the trailer there seemed to be an air of political correctness that repulsed.
Many have gushed over it so one day it may find its way into the DVD.
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
I'm glad I didn't see the trailer, as I might have had the same reaction as you. But, I found it in no way ramming a politically correct agenda as such, it is rather more earthy, visceral and in your face than that.
And it is the quality of the performances (Sidibe andMo’Nique) that really make this film outstanding, for me at least.
The fantasy sequences, although slightly cheesy, as one would expect form a 16 year old, are at times a merciful relief, the audience and Percious take a time out.
cheers and I'll be waiting to read your take on it sometime...
fog