Dir. Lee Daniels, US, 2009, 115 mins
Cast: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey
Review by Richard Mellor
Described in broad facts, Precious sounds like an intimidating watch. Its eponymous main character Claireece ‘Precious' Jones (first-time actor Gabourey Sidibe) is overweight, shy to the point of silence, and – conventionally at least – physically unattractive. She has an abusive mother (Mo'Nique) and a father who raped her before leaving home. Because he did, she has a baby with Downs Syndrome, now abandoned to social services, and is now pregnant again. She is illiterate with no job prospects. And she lives in the poorest corner of Harlem, NYC.
Two factors prevent 115 minutes of permanently-gruelling torture, however. The first is the kindness Precious is shown, first by her school teacher (Nealla Gordon), and then later at the special school to which she's referred, where her tutor is Ms. Rain (Paula Patton). With Ms. Rain's showers of encouragement, Precious slowly peeks out of her shell. She talks more clearly – her initial mumbles are often hard to understand – and begins to boldly confront her life's troubles. This new verve is further assisted by social worker Mrs Weiss (an unrecognisably frumpy Mariah Carey).
The second factor is the unexpected humour of Lee Daniels' film. Much of that stems from Precious' lively imagination: she reacts to awfulness around her by retreating into a dream world of celebrity galas, pop videos, hot male admirers and lots of dancing. These escapes are crucial, providing vital moments of cheer to offset Precious ' otherwise grim realism (somehow you know it's realistic). Daniels deserves real credit for ensuring these twin mentalities – darkness and light – don't jar with one another, but actually co-exist, as a way for Precious and viewers to cope with events.
The script, which Geoffrey Fletcher has adapted from Sapphire's novel Push , also draws welcome smiles. Much mirth is drawn from Precious' unease around the cultured crowd she newly mixes with: "they talk like TV channels I don't watch" she says, half-admiringly. Her new classmates bicker comically, while a scene where a heavily pregnant Precious steals a fried-chicken dinner is the movie's most uplifting. Nevertheless, the candidly-displayed horrors of Precious' home-life never seem too distant and even in the loudest laugh, one can't wholly forget her strife. The cinema foyer at the end will be like the London Marathon finishing paddock: thrilled, pained and utterly drained.
The drainer-in-chief is Mo'Nique. Playing a corpulent mother who unceasingly loathes her daughter (for reasons this review mustn't give away), she is as ugly a cinema character as you'll see all year. And yet, despite all her thuggery, her alopecia, her slovenliness, her slew of insults and her electric hatred, Mo'Nique still somehow comes close to gaining her character some forgiveness in the final scenes. It's a remarkable, courageous performance. Sidibe can't quite match that but her Precious, while bound to court our sympathy, proves very endearing. Carey and Lenny Kravitz, playing a friendly nurse, prove that musical talents can ably cut it on celluloid.
There are false notes. Patton's tutor, though very likeable, is a mite too perfect in this world of rapists and rogues. Not enough is made of the 1970s setting that Sapphire's story is set in – it may as well be the Noughties for all the lack of period references. The most obvious pitfall is well sidestepped, though: Daniels steadfastly refuses to let his film be the kind of rites-of-passage triumph where a kid from the wrong side of the tracks makes it against the odds. To some degree that plot actually is what happens - but it's a steadier, more suspicious rise to happiness, and one where you never dare assume a happy ending.
The director deserves much credit then: he has crafted a sensational, affecting film from very tricky subject matter. You'd have got long odds on this success beforehand: Daniels' one previous film was 2005's Shadowboxer , a renownedly bad watch despite a top cast. Trivia fans will enjoy hearing that Mo'Nique appeared in that one too, playing a character called... Precious.
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