Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009)
Grade:C
If there’s one zeitgeisty movie that’s emerged as the clear buzz-laden film this year from various festivals, it’s Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (which, for the sake of everyone’s sanity, will be referred to as Precious from hereon out). Whatever the reason is, whether it’s Mo’Nique’s dramatic turn as an abusive mother, the strong debut performance from Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe as the eponymous Precious, the revelation that Mariah Carey can apparently act, Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of the film as executive producer, or the ultimately triumphant and crowd-pleasing message of the film, ever since Precious steamrolled its way through Sundance, the buzz surrounding this film has built to a deafening roar.
There’s a problem with all the buzz, though: the film has to live up to it now that it’s finally rolling out in theaters. As much as I try my best to be objective and push aside any buzz or hoopla, it’s inevitable, and – full disclosure – Precious has been my most anticipated film of the year for a while now. The trailer is so very good, and advance word has been universally positive. Walking out of the theater, though, all I could think was: It’s just not a good film.
It’s a shame that Precious isn’t any better, because there’s so much potential in the finished cut of the film, and the acting throughout is superlative. As Precious, Sidibe is pretty great, looking sufficiently weary throughout, and why wouldn’t she? Her mother Mary (I’m sure there’s some sort of biblical allusion going on there) abuses her physically, verbally, mentally – we even get hints of sexual abuse in a bizarre sequence involving Mary masturbating in bed. Traditional school isn’t doing her any favors, and she’s pregnant with her second child – the result of her father raping her. Her first child, afflicted with Down syndrome, is in the care of Precious’s grandmother. In a throwaway plot thread in the final act of the film, it’s also revealed that Precious is HIV-positive.
The bright point in Precious’s life becomes the alternative school she transfers to: Each One Teach One. There, Ms. Rain (Paula Patton) encourages Precious to write and eventually Precious brings her reading and writing skills from a second grade level to an eighth grade level. Triumph! Then she gives birth to her second child. Setback! But the nurse there (Lenny Kravitz – yes, Lenny Kravitz) is super nice and it seems like her classmates are really starting to care for her. Triumph! Except her mom is still abusive and now is threatening to her baby. Setback! But Precious leaves and Ms. Rain finds her a room in a halfway home. Triumph!
That’s the feeling of the film: let’s pile a whole mess of shit on Precious, but then also let her have these successes along the way so as to keep things from being too depressing. I suppose that’s pretty basic screenplay structure, but what’s frustrating about Precious is that the script feels devoid of any structure whatsoever. There’s a minor arc going on with Precious and her schooling, but other than that, it’s a whole lot of middle going on without a delineated beginning and ending. For all the hype the film has received about it being like a punch to the gut, too, there isn’t much going on with Precious’s home life. Maybe two or three big scenes between Mo’Nique and Precious to establish Mary as A Monster, and then Precious gets the hell out of there and we’re left in a no-man’s narrative land of watching stuff simply happen with no narrative drive. The cast tries their darnedest to engage the audience, and they’re all given big acting moments that they sell, but there’s no there there.
Also of note are the magical realism-laden interludes prevalent in the first chunk of the film. It’s such a simplistic way of showing that yes, Precious dreams of being white (race commentary!), dreams of escaping from her lower-class existence (socio-economic commentary!), and dreams of a better life for herself (contrast = character complexity!). Director Lee Daniels even goes so far as to show Precious looking in a mirror and seeing an attractive white, blonde woman looking back. It’s a startling moment (that also gets mirrored nicely – no pun intended – late in the film), but it’s so blatant and on-the-nose that the moment gets accompanied by an audience sigh. Also frustrating is the sloppy use of voice over throughout the film. Sidibe delivers it well, but it’s mostly used in place of actual storytelling to get across who Precious is as a character. Why not give Precious a series of moments at home where we get to see her enacting her dreams? Or do more narrative work at her alternative school where we see her desires manifest themselves in the curriculum or through her interaction with her classmates?
What makes this all most disappointing is that there is a core of a great film in here, making the poor execution stick out even more. The acting, as I mentioned before, is universally excellent. Mo’Nique’s getting all the buzz and the Supporting Actress Oscar is likely hers to lose, but Mariah Carey (though distracting because she’s, y’know, Mariah) does quite well in a small role as Precious’s social worker. When Mo’Nique and Sidibe have their final face-off, Carey is there as mediator and she plays it pretty damn well amidst the histrionics that are (rightfully) on display from Mo’Nique. Patton, too, impresses in what could have easily devolved into a terribly rote role as the inspirational teacher that believes in Precious. The class of misfit students, too, are filled out nicely by naturalistic performances, though the script’s work to turn these students into three-dimensional characters is all for naught, as they ultimately have little influence over Precious beyond moral support.
Indeed, that’s the ultimate problem with the film: nothing seems to directly interact with Precious to inform the change that she goes through as a character. Patton’s Ms. Rain is perhaps the exception, but beyond her pushing Precious to read and write and being the only source of love for Precious, the minor arc that Precious undergoes is not a terribly dramatic one. There are dramatic moments, yes, but these are isolated incidents that have little bearing on each other. A string of well-acted moments with shouting do not combine into a cohesive moving experience, and Daniels seems to have missed the memo on this. The acting accolades that the film is bound to receive are all well-deserved, but beyond that, the film is a mishmash of poorly-formed ideas that never gain any traction to truly move the audience beyond muted appreciation for the actors involved.
Bottom Line:
Great acting isn’t enough to keep Precious afloat amidst misguided stylistic decisions and a screenplay that lacks the structure to really move an audience through Precious’s journey.
© 2004-2009 Ben Waldorf. Posted November 05, 2009. IMDB