MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (11/20/09): PRECIOUS
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Stephanie Andujar, Chyna Layne, Amina Robinson, Xosha Roquemore, Angelic Zambrana and introducing Gabourey Sidibe as the film's title character
WRITER: Geoffrey Fletcher (screenplay), Sapphire (the Push novel on which the movie is based)
DIRECTOR: Lee Daniels
WEB SITE: www.weareallprecious.com
THE PLOT: Based on the acclaimed novel Push by Sapphire and executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, Precious tells the story of a girl whose life no one in their right mind would want and should feel fortunate not to have.
Living in Harlem in 1987, 16 year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe in her first lead role), has problems. I don't mean what will I wear to prom problems, I mean grown, adult problems no one - let alone a teenager - should have to face. For starters, their is just life in a bad 'hood, which means there are undesirables of all sorts running about. There is also the fact that despite being passed along from grade to grade, she really can't read or write more than her name. There is also the issue of her health, as she is by all medical standards, obese.
All of these issues, however, pale in comparison to the fact she is pregnant with her second child (her first having down syndrome) ... By the man her monster of a mother (played with no shed of humor by comedian Mo'Nique) blames her for taking away from him. Seeing how THAT SAME MAN IS ALSO HER FATHER, Precious doesn't have the same emotion about him - especially since it results in her being assigned to an alternate school under the guidance of a teacher named Blue Rain (Paula Patton).
Precious' desire to change her situation, however, is what makes her life worthy of her name.
THE TAKE: I usually like to try and make a joke or two in all of my reviews; Precious, however, is a film that makes you it take it seriously from the start of its first frame 'till long after you leave the theater.
Anyone who knows me knows that I have been, um, a bit "critical" of Tyler Perry in the past. But this movie is not about Perry, it's not about Oprah, it's not about Kravitz or Carey (it is about Mo'Nique partially, but more about them in a minute) ... This movie is about the harsh realities that some (probably more than we realize) of America's youth - not just urban - face.
There are really no words I can write that will do justice to Precious in regards to its social/political/cultural implications, which is for my money the best film of the year I've seen this year (with Disney/Pixar's Up being a good but definite second). What I will say, however, is that the film is a brillant masterpiece of acting, storytelling and directing comparable to watching a Shakespearian tragedy unfold on screen. Mo'Nique delivers the finest performance of her burgeoning career in the film, one which based on her previous career you would never have seen coming. (Keep in mind this is a woman who had a fistfight with Broken Lizard member Kevin Heffernan in the comedy Beerfest and was in the movie Soul Plane, the bane of my existence next to Norbit, but I digress ...)
In playing Precious' mother, Mo'Nique personifies it - showcasing narcissism, ignorance, naivety, fear, anger and sadness behind what has happened to her and why she could not reconcile how she played a part in it happening to her daughter - with such vitriol that you are afraid of, hate and sorry for her all at the same time. The performance is commanding, unforgettable and so powerful it might help prevent other adults from being a similar influence in the lives of their own children.
Patton also shines in her role as Precious' teacher Ms. Rain, portraying her with a realistic passion akin to a dedicated teacher (or at least all of those that I have come across in my life). Also worth noting are the performances of Lenny Kravitz (as Nurse John) and Mariah Carey (as Precious welfare aid worker Ms. Weiss), both of whom disappear into their roles so well that their musical careers are nowhere near the focus of your mind as you watch them on screen.
Last but certainly not least is the performance of Sidibe. To ask an actress in to put out a performance of this caliber is a daunting task; to ask an actress in her first lead role - let alone such a young one - is almost ridiculous. But Sidibe proves she, like Precious, is not going to let the challenge of such a stressful situation stop her from giving it all she has.
That dedication is what makes Precious my early favorite for the best film of 2009.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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