Precious (2009) Reviews

• Once every so often...

  ccrivelli20052009-12-07

  Once every so often a film comes along that will change your perception of things. In one way or another it will give you elements to better yourself. "Precious" is such a film. Lee Daniels, the director, takes things to extremes, so much so that this could easily be an opera. When you think that things couldn't be worse, you discover that they have been worse already for a long time. Precious is played by a sort of miracle. Her name is Gubarey Sidibe and I don't even know how to pronounce it but I will certainly take her in my mind from now on, always. When she stands listening to the rantings of her mother, I surprised myself by feeling tears running down my face. The mother, a standout, once in a lifetime performance by Mo'Nique, is also a character we've never seen before. Brutal, unsentimental and truthful to the core. I saw the film over three weeks ago and I can't shake it out of my system, if that in itself is not a sign of greatness I don't know what is.

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• Stunning performances but emotionally inconsistent

  Monotreme022009-12-10

  I should start out by emphasizing that I disagree with much of the criticism the film has been receiving. A common disparagement condemns the movie as "emotionally manipulative" and "superficially inspirational", much like other films that fall into the category of the "inspirational dramas" depicting stories of individuals overcoming obstacles and hardships that many people seem to hate. Well, I personally found that the film portrays a reality far too bleak and dismal and brutal for it to possibly be considered "inspirational"; in addition, while the film ends on somewhat of a high note, even that is laced with misery and becomes the lesser of two evils for the protagonist. Another criticism of the film – and of the book it is based on – is from the opposite end of the spectrum, and blames the film for portraying TOO bleak a situation to the point of exploitation. I personally found the scenario portrayed in the film to be strikingly realistic, and I think that people who are too ignorant to realize that such a grim existence can feasibly be led in 21st century America need a serious wake-up call. One aspect of the film that deserves all the praise in the world is its cast, specifically the performances of its lead actresses and the surprising and unexpected quality of these performances considering the particular thespians involved. First and foremost, we have the breakout role of Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, portraying the overweight, twice-pregnant and illiterate protagonist, Precious. The performance is a revelation both because of how convincingly Sidibe reacts to and interacts with her brutal day-to-day existence, but also because of how completely removed it is from the first-time actresses' actual life. It's always impressive to see a performer convincingly convey difficult and profound emotions that they probably would never feel themselves in their real lives, but for a first-time actress to convey these emotions is particularly incredible. Precious' life is populated by three prominent adult characters; two of which see past her daunting exterior and genuinely want to help her, and one who does the exact opposite. Mariah Carey plays a social worker who takes a personal interest in Precious' case and, in the film's most dramatically gut-wrenching scene, makes a genuine attempt to bridge the gap between the teenager and her monstrous mother. Carey has only ever acted in two or three other films, including the atrocious vanity project "Glitter", but in this role, she de-glams, puts on a convincing and raspy accent and actually manages to deliver a surprisingly well rounded and convincing performance. Paula Patton plays another alternate mother figure in Precious' life, her teacher at her alternate school who takes a particularly personal interest in Precious, to the point of letter her stay at her home when she has nowhere else to go. Unlike Mariah Carey, Patton never did anything to totally remove my confidence in her acting abilities, but then again, she's never actually given what can really be considered a "good" performance, which is what makes her tender and genuine turn in this film most impressive. But the scene-stealer is without a doubt Mo'Nique, probably one of my LEAST favorite "comedic" performers who totally redeems herself and manages to deliver a frighteningly convincing performance, incredibly transforming herself into Precious' villainous, sadistic and purely evil mother. It is an incredible and difficult and extremely brave performance, and is even more impressive considering that it's coming from the star of "Phat Girlz". The performances are rich and incredible enough to hold up dramatic scenes, but not the narrative as a whole, which, as I mentioned before, suffers from a series of bad directorial choices made by director Lee Daniels. The film's biggest flow is emotional inconsistency: in an attempt to portray Precious' inner feelings, Daniels injects strangely conceived fantasy sequences at key dramatic moments in which Precious imagines herself as a glamorous and famous personality. While the intention of these sequences is clear, their abruptness just totally jolts the audience out of the emotional flow of the film, and they just seem out of place. For a similar reason, Daniels chooses to set grim and dramatic scenes to oddly inappropriate songs and musical cues, which once again just feel forced and out of place, and interrupt the emotional resonance of the scenes. Other than that, the film just seems poorly done at times, or simply unfinished: the cinematography is inconsistent and often features zooms and loss of focus that don't feel like stylistic choices but rather just like mistakes. In addition, the editing is quite disjointed at times, and many cuts interrupt musical cues in the middle or otherwise are just so sudden and jumbled that they completely ruin the dramatic flow. Finally, I just felt that while many separate scenes work wonderfully and are emotional and genuinely gut-wrenching, they are just too loosely connected for the film to actually carry a consistent dramatic arc throughout, as it jumps between Precious' brutal home life to her newfound support in her classroom to her day-to-day activities to her inner fantasies. For example, a major dramatic reveal near the end of the film end sup completely ignored and thus irrelevant to the dramatic arc. As I mentioned earlier, the performances are absolutely spectacular, but the inconsistencies in the film's tone and its jumbled and odd editing take away from what otherwise could have been a genuinely affective film.

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• A Truly Brutal, Emotionally Wrenching Movie

  sddavis632010-08-26

  SPOILER: First of all, thank God that this doesn't claim to be "based on" or "inspired by" a true story. That would be too much to take, because this is truly the most brutal movie I have ever seen - brutal not in quality but in content. As Precious deals with her mother's ongoing and relentless abuse (both physical and verbal) you find yourself almost in tears. As she has flashbacks to the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her father you just need to turn your head away for a while and catch your breath. It's brutal. It doesn't claim to be based on a true story. You hope it's an exaggeration. You wish it doesn't happen. And, somehow, somewhere, deep within you know there are young kids enduring this type of abuse on a daily basis. So, the movie definitely gets an emotional reaction from the viewer, and deserves credit for that. But let's think about the content. As brutal and emotionally draining as it is, the story is at times lacking. Perhaps the flashbacks and fantasies are a bit too much, so that you're not always sure of the reality of what you're watching. You have to like Gabourey Sidibe's performance as Precious. Her absolutely unfeeling reactions to her mother struck me as the sort of reaction an abused child would have. For an inexperienced newcomer, her performance was great. An Oscar nomination? I'm not sure to be honest. One of the biggest problems I had with her was that I often had trouble understanding what she was saying. Maybe it was the character - Precious being uneducated and abused, so she mumbled a lot as if she really didn't want to be heard. Perhaps there's some reality to that, but it's frustrating from the perspective of watching the movie and wanting to hear the dialogue. I thought the confrontation with her mother in the social worker's office was well done. It seemed the logical climax to the movie as the mother is confronted with the evils that happened to Precious at her hands and at the hands of her boyfriend. I loved the fact that Precious walked away and left her behind. I was also a little confused, though. She walked away with 2 kids - one with Down's Syndrome? As she said herself, she's still only reading at a junior high school level. Sure. "Then high school. Then college." She has dreams. That's great. But she's not living in the "then" - she's living in the "now." How is she going to care for two kids? As the movie ended, I was worried about them. It really is a brutal, emotionally wrenching movie. It's not a movie I would watch twice. It's full of horrendous abuse and some of the most sustained and foulest language I've ever heard in a movie. It deserves a lot of credit. But it's also not great.

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• a work of art

  mukava9912009-11-08

  Gabourey Sibide looks and sounds a lot like the late Hattie McDaniel; if a biopic about McDaniel is ever made, Sibide should star. Starting from this superficiality, it is clear that the character Sibide plays, an abused, obese late- 20th-century Harlem teenager three or four generations down the line from the McDaniels era, seems to embody a sadly ironic regression in the status of black women in America. Precious's very existence and her debased environment speak to a grave social disease that continues to poison our civilization – the creation and perpetuation of a dependent underclass. At one point Precious compares her self image to "black grease that needs to be wiped away." The horror of it all is that as dreadful as Precious's situation is, she is actually better off than many others in similar straits. She is, despite obesity, strong and healthy, drug free and has a beautiful smile. There are plenty of underclass females much closer to an early grave and utter hopelessness than she. The story takes us on the journey of this monstrously mistreated young female from near destruction at the hands of her violent, hyper-narcissistic mother (Mo'Nique) and her rapist father (who has impregnated her twice by age 16) to a rescue with the help of a frayed but still somewhat viable network of dedicated social workers who help her gain literacy and independence from her wicked elders. Interspersed with the depressing realities of ghetto life is the constant flow of Precious's glamorous daydreams, the little fires generated by her undying spark of life, her only opening toward beauty and light, imagining herself wrapped in beautiful gowns, doted on by handsome men, cheered by adoring crowds on the red carpet; wealth, fame, as she knows them from the pop culture that is her only mental nourishment. For her mother and for herself, life is an endless round of TV–food–arguments-TV–food-arguments. In their dark and dingy apartment, practically the only illumination is from the TV screen. Mo'Nique's performance is revelatory on multiple levels, down to the bone of the human condition and certainly up to the highest screen standards. It is bravura work. Sibide's performance is technically masterful but much of her effectiveness comes from her imposing physical presence; this is not meant to detract one iota from her acting skills – it is just a fact. The excellent supporting performances include a pleasing turn from singer Mariah Carey as a down-to-earth social worker with a playful personality; it's an inventive characterization. But the whole cast excels and they should be honored for great ensemble work, especially the young ladies in the special education classroom. Flaws? The pacing seems to slow down unnecessarily toward the end and Precious's educational progression seems a bit confused and not completely fleshed out, but this is minor stuff. This is a very inspired work of art by someone with a fresh vision. It is not preaching morals or slogans, just revealing truth.

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• Powerfully emotive story filled with hope and optimism

  wmjaho2009-01-25

  I'm not surprised that Push won both the Grand Jury and Audience Award at Sundance this year. Director Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer) has created a very powerful film that manages to entertain while evoking a broad spectrum of emotions, from anger and heartbreaking pity to optimism, joy and hope. Clareece "Precious" Jones (Gabby Sidibe) is a fat 16-year-old illiterate black girl that lives in Harlem with her welfare-dependent, abusive mother (Mo'Nique). She has one autistic daughter (who lives with her grandmother) and is pregnant with another child, both from her mother's boyfriend, who is also Clareece's father. Her mother repeatedly tells her how stupid and worthless she is while other kids taunt her for her obesity. She has become hardened and heartless, lacking education and social skills. She spends her time cooking for her mother and fantasizing unrealistically about a glamorous life. She would be easy to dismiss. Based on a novel by Sapphire, this is some pretty bleak stuff. But good things can happen in this world and Precious is blessed with an indomitable spirit that refuses to accept the negative reinforcement that bombards her. Through her efforts, and despite resistance from her mother, she finds an alternative school. It is staffed by Miss Rains, a caring teacher (Paula Patton) and classmates who, although anything but perfect, possess enough compassion to become supportive friends. It turn out that the world can be a pretty good place. First-time actress Gabby Sidibe gives a powerful, emotive performance. Equally good is talented actresses Mo'Nique, who is almost frightening as Precious' mother, and Patton as the compassionate teacher. Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey also have minor roles, giving the film a little star power. Daniels conveys a Harlem existence that is profane, hard-edged and brutal, but with rays of humanity and compassion that leave room for hope. It is at once both a message to the poor in spirit not to despair, and to the rest of us make the time and effort to reach out where we can. Push is an inspiring message that will fill you with optimism and joy. Sundance Moment: When asked about her getting the role, Sidibe said that she had some acting experience--like a non-speaking role in a college production. Pretty funny! She said her friends encouraged her to audition because she "fit the profile." She also said she relied heavily on "Mr. Daniels" for direction. Daniels said there were parts of making the movie that were hard on him emotionally--like directing Precious to eat, or instructing her peers to bully her.

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