If you told any film studio executive that a film about an obese African-American teenager who is mentally and physically abused by her family and almost everyone around her, is in the running to be 2009’s must-see film, he/she would probably give you a tight smile and ask you to leave the office.
But reality is stranger than fiction and at this year’s AFI Film festival, it was all about “Precious,” the harrowing story adapted from the novel, “Push,” by Sapphire, about Claireece Precious Jones, a 16-year-old pregnant teenager who is trapped in a world of abuse and is given a chance to learn to read and write at an alternative school. It even has Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry on board to help promote the film…not that it needs any at this point, because the work stands on its own.
The grim description of the film does little justice to the sense of hope that the characters bring to the film, especially from newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, as well as from Mariah Carey playing a supporting role as a jaded social worker. Carey was told to come to the set with zero makeup, no car service, and not even a hint of blush. The R&B superstar is barely recognizable, but is being lauded by critics for giving the performance of her career. And let’s not forget Mo’Nique who is known for her bawdy humor on comedy shows, but morphs into a monster of abuse onscreen. Talk about acting chops.
Lee Daniels, the director of “Precious” tells the NYTimes that, “‘Precious’ is so not Obama. ‘Precious’ is so not P.C. What I learned from doing the film is that even though I am black, I’m prejudiced. I’m prejudiced against people who are darker than me. When I was young, I went to a church where the lighter-skinned you were, the closer you sat to the altar. Anybody that’s heavy like Precious — I thought they were dirty and not very smart. Making this movie changed my heart. I’ll never look at a fat girl walking down the street the same way again.”
Comments
NannyJ
November 4th, 2009 - 1:23:45 PM
The reviews for this at TIF were incredible, sad I missed it then - I won't miss it this time!
Maggie
November 4th, 2009 - 2:27:18 PM
Unfortunately, while this movie has been receiving outstanding reviews -- including at TIF -- studio heads would still probably be right. Precious just isn't going to find a mainstream audience. It's too real, too tragic, and way too far from the mainstream. Slumdog Millionaire worked (box office wise) because it was exciting and fun to watch -- even if it was completely unrealistic (at least with regard to the plot) -- but most importantly, because it happened somewhere else. Over "there". Same thing with Hotel Rwanda. That was someone else's problem on the other side of the world, where the people are brown. Precious though, deals directly with out own (the US) problems, and is just a little too close to home for most. Unfortunately. People just don't want to admit what results their actions (or lack thereof) end in. Especially with regard to poverty. I hope I'm wrong though. Fantastic film.