Precious

I avoided seeing this film until the last possible moment. I did not want to face the pain and the horror that Clarice Precious Jones endures for her first sixteen years on earth. After having seen Lee Daniels' film based on the novel Push by the author known as Sapphire, I can say two things with certainty: 1) Mo'Nique will win the Best Supporting Actress award and 2) there are far more girls out there like Precious than I would like to admit. Daniels has created a gritty portrait of life in which Precious (played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe), an obese illiterate girl in Harlem attempts to better her situation. A situation which feels like a train wreck in a poor town that just got hit with a hurricane. Precious lives with her mother in Harlem in 1987. She is pregnant for the second time by her own father, who has been sexually abusing her since the age of three. Her mother Mary, jealous of these interactions, is viciously physically, verbally and sexually abusive towards Precious. As if that weren't enough to engender your sympathy, Precious then gets expelled from school when the higher-ups glean that she is pregnant. It is then that Precious enrolls in an alternative education program and meets Miss Rain, played by Paula Patton. Miss Rain encourages Precious to write, which allows her to find a outlet for all the depravity she has been forced to stuff inside.
When Mary feels Precious gaining strength, she tries mightily to stomp her back down. Mary has been on welfare for years, which she tells Precious she should take advantage of, as she will never amount to anything. Precious then meets Ms. Weiss, a social worker played by Mariah Carey in the best (and certainly the least vain) performance she has ever given. Although I haven't seen Glitter so I can't say for sure. Sidibe is mesmerizing, particularly having never acted onscreen previously. She is so restrained in her pain that at first we're not sure if she even feels it anymore. But it soon becomes horribly clear that Precious has concocted an alternate universe in which she is rich, famous and adored. She swans about movie premieres and nightclub gigs while fawned over by her "light-skinned boyfriend". She is the belle of her own personal ball so that she can escape the grimness of her own reality. Sidibe straddles both of Precious' worlds perfectly, with a grace and poise that very few actors have, let alone novices. Paula Patton does a nice job as Miss Rain, trying valiantly not to let her class of misfit young women believe all the crap they've been told about themselves. But the most astonishing performance in this film or any other this year is Mo'Nique's. She is breathtaking as Mary. We see her seething hatred towards her daughter and we wonder how any mother could be such a monster. Then, while sobbing in the welfare office, Mary explains the derivation of Precious' abuse. We suddenly feel sorry for her, then disgust at ourselves that we could empathize with her. It is Mo'Nique's talent and ability to careen so easily within these extremes that makes her so watchable. That the woman from Soul Plane can deliver such a performance is astounding. Or maybe I rushed to judgment on Soul Plane.
Daniels is no stranger to intense and aching material as evidenced by both Monster's Ball and Shadowboxer. As a homosexual, Daniels claims to have always identified with the feelings of the outcast, allowing him special insight into many of his characters. With Precious, Daniels has opened a world for most of us to thankfully only gaze upon. He never panders to his audience with cloying tactics, he simply lets the story and the acting speak for itself. My Comment revolves around both Daniels and Sidibe. With the recent spate of award nominations tossed their way, both Daniels and Sidibe have achieved the familiar glow of "fresh new talent". They are lauded both on the talk show circuit and in the press. For Daniels, the typical praise celebrates his ability to conjure up cinematic magic on a shoestring budget. Sidibe seems to be less applauded for her acting ability than her "decision" to remain overweight in a business that applies tremendous pressure on actresses to be thin. Both director and actress seem to be handling their newfound fame with aplomb, something I hope they are able to continue to do. The thing that Sidibe and Daniels both share is the supreme and utter self-confidence in themselves. Think of how many people actually possess that quality. In show business? Actors, directors and writers are the least confident people I know. For these two, it seems to be a non-issue. I don't know how they got there, but I sure wouldn't mind some of that juju.