Lee Daniels is making himself quite a career out of getting black actresses Academy Award nominations. He did it for Halle Berry in 2001 with Monster’s Ball and now he’s done it both for new-comer Gabourey Sidibe and where-did-she-come-fromer Mo’Nique with Precious. I came into Precious a bit reticent due to what I felt was a stunt nomination for Berry for the overrated Monster’s Ball, and due to both Oprah and Tyler Perry getting credit for being the impetuses for bringing this one to the screen. While overall I would say that my fears of this one being a train wreck were sated, I still can’t say that I see what all the fuss is about. I contend that Daniels’ latest is just as overrated as his debut, only this time overrated based on the novel Push by Sapphire.
And that is the long and short of it. My main disappointment with Precious is that it didn’t have more to offer than what was given in the trailers. If you’ve seen the advertisements for this film, you’ve seen the film. People have a lot of highly charged confrontations, some tear filled meltdowns, and then we’re sent on our way. The only thing Precious seems to add to the inspirational inner city teacher genre is an exaggerated state of distress for its characters. Things are so bad for Precious that the film stops being a tale of despair and salvation and starts to stagnate as nothing more than exploitive poverty porn. Precious doesn’t know her ABCs, her daughter has a genetic disorder, she gets hit by frying pans, she has to steal buckets of fried chicken, she’s raped; it all becomes just too much. The food Precious eats could constitute child abuse in itself; all boiled grease meats and grilled farm animal feet. When the trials and tribulations of her life become just too much, Precious retreats into a fantasy world where she is a famous actress, a cover model, a beloved starlet. Precious is Amélie for masochists. The fantasy interludes are too brief, the reality too horrible. After a while I began to wonder what the point of the whole exercise was. Sure she makes small strides by the end of the picture, but the film’s focus seems less about the journey toward better times and more about wallowing in the negative. Interspersed throughout is voice over featuring Precious’ internal monologue. One would think if the screenwriters were taking such easy shortcuts as voice over in the screen writing process that they would at least use the tool to add some insight into the main character’s feelings and motivations; but what we’re given is shallow, ignorant, and completely without insight. Sure this is realistic given Precious’ situation, but why would I want to watch it?
Despite my misgivings about the content and intentions of Precious, some of what we’re given manages to be stirring and effective. Montage editing is used to convey Precious’ mental state. Images of abuses and pains blend together and interrupt each other in a stream of conscious car wreck that vividly shows us what it must be like to be just too messed up to think or function. Andrew Dunn handles the cinematography and while it is nothing spectacular, that may be exactly the point. The camerawork is generally handheld, but not distractingly so. It gives you an appropriate sense of being in the moment without getting too abrasively shaky and taking you out of the film. Generally the camera work stays out of the way and puts the focus on the actors. And the performances, as you may have heard, are where this film shines. Mo’Nique was given Best Supporting Actress by the Academy for her role as the abusive mother and it was much deserved. She is dealing with some pretty over the top stuff, but manages to absolutely sell the reality of the situation at every moment. She is obstinate, insufferable, and so completely irredeemable that it could have been easy for her character to become a cartoonish parody, but somehow, when you look into her eyes, you can tell that Mo’Nique means it. Gabourey Sidibe is in her first feature role here and you would never be able to tell with how adeptly she shoulders the weight of the film. She appears in most every scene, gets all the focus, and has to be the eyes through which we enter this corrupt, hopeless world. While her role isn’t as flashy as Mo’Nique’s, her performance is just as authentic. Despite her situation seeming so unbelievable, Gabourey manages to make Precious’s existence feel real. When you watch her in this film you begin to believe that she might very well be Precious, and that this could be her real life story.
So I guess, when it comes down to it, my problem with Precious is not with any aspect of its production, but instead with what it is that got produced. The scenes between Mo’Nique and Gabourey were intensely acted, but they didn’t feel organically part of a story. Instead they felt like their entire point was to exist as an acting showcase. Precious’ life wasn’t a journey for us to take, but a sensationalist series of events meant to draw us in and get us talking. The film, to me, exists less as an artistic exploration and more as a product aimed at test groups and demographics. I can’t enjoy wallowing in other people’s despair unless it is to achieve some greater storytelling goal. I go to the cinema to be engaged, not to gawk. I want a film to speak to me, not attempt to bait me. Precious is made by talented filmmakers and brought to life by talented actors, but in the end I kind of wish that it wasn’t made at all.
