Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Lee Daniels | USA | 2009
110 min
Precious isn’t subtle. In telling the story of a black, extremely obese, underprivileged, teenage single mother with a down’s syndrome inflicted child who is abused (physically, emotionally, verbally) by both her parents and finds herself the victim of incest, the film has time to give us one last shocking reveal by the end, that Clareece ‘Precious’ Jones suffers from AIDS as well. Is there any predicament that doesn’t befall her?
The first signs of trouble in the film are the glaringly obvious, gimmicky, pseudo documentary camera work, which zooms in an out of characters faces while they stare blankly at the screen during key scenes. Director Lee Daniels (producer of similarly morose but better made films Monsters Ball and Woodsmen, benefitting by not being directed by him) uses every known indie film cliché including using semi-intelligent voice over narration to emphasize Clareece’s fragmented thoughts. This approach, where the narrative is peppered with fantasy moments of Clareece imagining herself as a diva, singer, actress etc is based on the celebrated book (which employed stream of consciousness), but it is important to differentiate the film from its source material. This story, a work of fiction ‘inspired’ by author Sapphire’s experiences dealing with such women when she was teaching, masquerades as fact when it is clearly not. By amalgamating every known predicament that can inflict itself on the poor and downtrodden, it creates an artificial archetype of the destitute that is rarely convincing.
The storytelling approach is heavy handed, often using extreme exaggerations where none are required. When Clareece returns from the hospital with her second child, her wildly abusive mother (Monique, aiming for nothing more than shock and awe with her excessive use of profanity) throws her baby on a cushion and attacks her daughter. The scuffle ends with the two hulking women pushing each other around the house and throwing things at each other, including a television set. Many in the audience gasped. Others laughed. I was among the latter because I could not help but be amused by the shamelessly embellished attempt at inciting audience sympathy for someone who had already been portrayed as so lowly a human being.
Precious has little going for it, save for its honest performances. Of these, Mo’Nique’s big mama with a filthy mouth has already gotten the lion’s share of its overwrought publicity, but newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as the titular character, Mariah Carey as a sympathetic social worker and especially Paula Patton as lesbian patron saint/teacher/savior turn in effective turns. But good performances can’t save this film, which gives blaxploitation a whole new meaning. Watching it is like sitting through a feature film length episode of the Jerry Springer trash TV show.
