Precious is the kind of movie that is hard to shake off and for good reason, the movie is powerful in its exemplification of hope as a tool for human survival, is finely acted (against type nonetheless), and provides a break out role for a budding star who defies Hollywood convention. However, its true power comes in its audacity to tell a story that at first appears to be culturally specific and central and yet proves to be universal by its sheer will to make the human condition a color blind affair. The movie is bold in its description of the hell that precious must endure everyday, but never forgets to provide a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel both for the titular character and the audience.
What's also important to note is that this movie appeared in only 18 theaters when I saw it and raked in an impressive 1.8 million dollars averaging about 100,000 dollars per theater which in this day and age is impressive. Surely Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry's monikers on the marquee made a huge impact on the receipts, but its wholly unnecessary as I feel that "Precious" is the type of movie that would have found an audience regardless for its themes prove to topical and universal for audiences not to take note. And note they did as the 11:00pm screening I caught at Magic Johnson theaters seem to tell the hard truth about just how topical precious is.
I have to admit, that I was a little apprehensive about seeing "Precious" maybe in the same way I was apprehensive about seeing "Hotel Rwanda." You pretty much go in knowing that you are going to be witnessing some pretty gruesome material, but what threw me off about precious was its refusal to settle in the morose. The film is quite entertaining and funny on its own terms. And the audience at Magic Johnson theater all seemed to be laughing with a keen familiarity about these scenes. However, there were times when I thought the laughter was just flat out rude and ultimately telling as audiences seemed to fine humor in some of the more darker aspects of the story and especially the abuse. What I ultimately discovered is that the laughter revealed an awareness about these situation that may have been too uncomfortable for some to bear. I have to admit, that minus some of the particulars, Mo'Nique's rendition of Mary is a pretty spot on impersonation of my sister. Lazy, unmotivated, having my niece wait on her hand and foot. The abuse in that situation was more verbal as my sister did everything in her power to ruin my niece's self esteem. However, it may be the casual display of how the abuse transpires between Precious and her mother, Mary, in the story that gave way to chuckles. Its so spot on and unflinching that at first its almost too real to process....making Mo'Nique presence in it read as comedy since audiences are not use to seeing her in a dramatic role. And ohh does Mo'Nique kill it. She is soo good in "Precious" that its hard not to imagine her as a shoo in for the academy awards.
And speaking of performances, Lee Daniels is a true auteur when it comes to performances. I'm not sure how or why he chose to employ the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, and Mo'Nique and place them all in the same movie, but the casting stunt couldn't have worked better as everyone sheds their star personas and instantly blend into the "Precious" backdrop. Gabby Sidibe deserves her own mention as (since she is relatively unknown) it was initially hard to separate the performer from the person, but once you see Ms. Sidibe in interviews you realize just how different she is from this character and just how masterfully she creates and makes you believe this world exists for this girl. It truly is a break out role and you'd be hard pressed to fine another actress who could have pulled this off so effortlessly (just to provide scope, at one point singer Brandy was pitched as "Precious Jones" - that would have been just flat out silly).
What I ultimately appreciated about "Precious" the movie is that it doesn't try to pretend that everything ends up with candy and flowers for Precious the human being. There are several developments in the story that make you feel like giving up, but as more and more complications ensue, you see a twinkle of hope in this young girls eyes, as she struggles to find herself, then does, to great avail, and declares her independence amongst the individuals she trusted who ultimately tried to seal her fate. Its a great story of hope and its one that hit home with me especially. I still need to watch this movie again as in all the chuckling and laughter I missed a lot of the subtlety the story has to offer, but I am proud of this film for nothing more than being a tool for somebody somewhere to watch and know that no hell is permanent and a happy ending is just not relegated to the things that happen only in the movies.
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