Nine Stars out of Ten Stars (*********/**********)
To say my expectations for Precious were high going in would be a massive understatement.
I love strong black women, I love put-upon black women, I love graceful, hopeful black women. I love ghetto black women. And hell yes, I love fat black women. Cinematically speaking, of course. I don’t practise some sort of perverse affirmative action inverse racism and chase poor ladies down Brixton high street (although there have been moments). What I admire is strength and grace despite hardships – rising above it, and doing so with humour and attitude. And heaven above I’m not suggesting this is something that applies solely and universally to black women. But you get me, yeah?
This isn’t something that films have particularly indulged me in, actually. And considering I’ve ventured my whole love of black ladies as cinematically inclined, this is a great fucking shame. Whoopi Goldberg and the women of The Color Purple? That’s the only example that springs to mind isn’t it? Sorry Beyoncé and J-Hud; Dreamgirls was cack. Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball, erm, yeah, no. In fairness I still need to see Angela Bassett, Cicely Tyson and a few others. But yes, overall, it’s slim pickings. I have to turn to the tunings of Beyoncé et al and the various hot mess female guests of Maury when needing to put my metaphorical freakum dress on. And it shouldn’t be this way. Joking aside, these women I speak of are forces of nature, they are great towering personalities whom I see pass me in the street every day, and they deserve to be represented on screen. And I’m not just talking about some conceptual idea of a fabulous black woman a skinny gay boy likes to idolise; I’m talking about real characters, real stories, real women.
And so we come to Precious. It’s here, at last. This is a real story. This is a real woman. And it’s absolutely heartbreaking. And let me get one thing straight – this film doesn’t succeed by simply taking the audience aback with its subject matter. It’s not a valuable life-lesson for anyone who’s ever dismissed someone because of the way they looked, or acted. Approval of this film doesn’t stem from some guilt-ridden place where white folks can pat themselves on the back and feel better. Precious succeeds because whoever you are – fat, thin, dumb, smart – it gives you characters, nuanced and truthful. It’s a joy because when you watch you are Precious. It’s so authentic, and the writing and tone is so natural, that you take in such a reality from each character. You feel Precious’ helplessness, Ms Rain’s (Paula Patton) selflessness, Mrs Weiss’s (Mariah Carey) horror. Most shockingly of all though is that you feel Mary’s (Mo’Nique) justification; the little seeds of self-doubt in her mind that led her to the darkest of places. Mo’Nique’s final scene is a tour-de-force piece of acting the likes of which I haven’t ever really seen. It is monumental.
Overall I know one thing – Precious is a girl that stayed with me. And it’s not because she’s a strong black woman, or a put-upon black woman, or a ghetto black woman, or even a fat black woman. It’s not down to any of those silly stereotypes I indulge myself in. It’s simply because she’s Precious. If Gabourey Sidibe isn’t nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Oscars I’ll barf up my own pelvis in protest.
Tags: Academy Award Best Actress, Angela Bassett, Beyoncé, Cicely Tyson, Dreamgirls, Gabourey Sidibe, Halle Berry, Jennifer Hudson, Lee Daniels, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Maury, Mo'Nique, Monster's Ball, Oprah Winfrey, Paula Patton, Precious, Sherri Shepherd, The Color Purple, Tyler Perry, Whoopi Goldberg
October 29, 2009 at 2:40 am |
DYING to see this ASAP.
it opens next month in Chicago, and I have been behind Mo’Nique for about 5 months now. I cannot wait to see her performance, Gabby, and the film as a whole
October 30, 2009 at 5:54 pm |
Please stop lusting after us black ladies, thanks. We don’t like to be fetishized. Your review is offensive. So is this movie.
October 31, 2009 at 1:47 pm |
For real? I’ll fetishise what I want, thanks, it makes no difference to anyone else.
And what exactly is so offensive about Precious?
November 2, 2009 at 4:29 pm |
Really? You’ll fetishize what you want? We’re not talking about whips, chains, or chocolate bon bons here, but people. You spend practically half your review on this film talking about how you like all types of black women, including really fat ones. I’m a person. And people of color, like myself, find it creepy when they’re objectified/fetishized in this manner. If you’re not white, which I’m presuming, I apologize, but the reason why “Precious” sucks, besides it being bad filmmaking, is that I think it invites this kind of fixation from the people who watch it.
November 2, 2009 at 7:10 pm |
Well, firstly I really don’t think I fetishize black ‘people’ in any prejudiced way. More the emergent strand of pop culture embodied by strong black females. The divas, the weaves, the struts etc. etc. I did point out I was talking in terms of cinema and culture, here. I don’t see these factors as indicative of the person at all.
I would never judge any person I came across by their skin colour, or on some notion of a black person I’d dreamt up for myself. I understand how that aspect of my review could be seen in that way; but it really isn’t meant to be offensive, and I’m very sorry if that’s how you felt on first reading.
Secondly, I understand your problems with white people ‘fixating’ on girls like Precious. That’s actually one of the main reasons I wrote the review with such a slant. My point was that I am one of those silly white boys who might sometimes go overboard about a ‘strong black diva’. Hence my anticipation for ‘Precious’. But what I actually was blown away by was how the story resonated with me irrespective of that whole aspect. It wasn’t because the racial element ‘appealed’ in any way at all. The story and characters and performances just blew any of those ideas away. Do you see?
But I understand as a black woman yourself, you might find that a very thin line. I think it’s a debate worth having though. And I certainly don’t think you could have made ‘Precious’ in a different way so as not to appeal to those guys who love a sassy black girl. It doesn’t mean they can’t go in with high hopes and be blown away by authentic performances and real emotion!
What do you think?
December 22, 2009 at 8:55 pm |
i will be sick to my stomach if this is not:
* nominated for best picture
* gabby nominated for actress
* mo’nique WINNING for supporting
i will be destroyed if those 3 things dont happen
September 26, 2010 at 4:45 pm |
[...] me. It’s a totally different approach to the one taken by Lee Daniels in Precious, which I raved here last year. That film did linger over story and plot and past, as was appropriate in order to [...]