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"Precious," A Film Almost Too Real To Appreciate

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This is going to be sticky, so please, bear with me.  I just saw the film "Precious" and I can barely breathe.

The only way I'm going to be able to write about this movie is in two parts: my hopefully professional and objective review of the movie, and then my gut level, emotional reaction to the movie.  So as I said, please bear with me.

The Cinema Society Hosts A Screening Of "Precious" - After Party

"Precious" is based on the book, "Push" by Sapphire and was directed by Lee Daniels, who was a producer on the Oscar winning film, "Monster's Ball." Set in Harlem in the late 80's, the film tells the story of sixteen-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe), who's pregnant with her second child by her mother's boyfriend, her own father.

Precious is painfully obese, functionally illiterate and at the mercy of her horrific mother, Mary (Mo'Nique).  Mary is a lump that vegetates in front of the television and only lives to play the numbers, work the welfare system, and abuse Precious in every possible way.

When her father repeatedly rapes her, Precious escapes to a rich fantasy life where she's literally a star, flashbulbs popping, adoring crowds cheering, and everyone loves her.

After being kicked out of school, Precious ends up in an alternative school classroom run by Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), a teacher who gives Precious the benefit of her patience and compassion. 

The movie unfolds almost like a documentary with Precious intermittently narrating her thoughts and feelings.  The fitful pacing keeps the audience on edge as much as Mary's dangerous mood swings keep Precious on edge. 

As to the performances, all the Oscar talk about Mo'Nique is well founded because she strips herself bare for this role.  Since the movie doesn't show us much of Precious' father, Mary is the one who represents everything that is wrong with the hellhole of a life Precious was born into, and Mo'Nique  is so authentic, it's truly frightening.

Gabourey Sidibe in her film debut is heartbreaking as Precious.  Mariah Carey is nearly unrecognizable in her role as a social worker, as is Sherri Shepherd who takes a break from "The View" to play a receptionist at the alternative school.

Is the film worth seeing?  Yes, it's well crafted and the performances are extraordinary, but be warned, it's not for the faint of heart.

Now, my gut reaction.  Taking off my professional hat now.

I used to use a news radio station as my alarm in the morning until one day I realized that as soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I heard every day was, "Three men were killed...," "A man was shot and killed...," "The body of a missing woman was found..."

I decided I didn't want to start every one of my days of life hearing about such brutality.  So now my alarm is a buzzer.

"Precious" is one of those films that makes me question art and its value.  I don't think every film should be "Bambi" of course, but as I get older I have very little tolerance for this kind of work which explodes with such brutality.


Image: Lionsgate

I saw it because I agreed to the assignment and because as someone who writes about entertainment I felt I needed to see it.  But like the news radio headlines, I'm sorry those scenes and visions are in my head.

I wish I could get more deeply into an intellectual discussion about the issue of stereotypes the film brings up but I'll leave that to the very capable writers I've referenced in the Related Links below.

At this moment, so soon after seeing the movie, I hate men so much I can barely stand it.  I especially hate black men because I'm black and feel ashamed to share even a tiny bit of the same heritage of a man who would do this.

You see, I've met Mary.  I've met Precious.  Maybe we weren't close, maybe we weren't related but I know that in my life, I've met them both.

Sitting in that crowded theatre, watching the fictional Mary do her dirty work, all I could think was that I hated her. 

I wanted her dead.  I wanted her dead and I wanted to be the one to kill her.

She makes me ashamed to be a woman and a black woman especially because she

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ChrisSnooper 5 pts

Lee Daniels has done a great job on this film. I look forward to his next project.

Megan Smith 5 pts

Hi Kim,

No offense taken.  :-)

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

My Review Blog:  Meg's Rad Reviews ( http://www.megsradreviews.com )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

kimsisto 5 pts

Megan, I love your blogs!!! 

I also love that you respond to everybody.  I understand what you are saying here....And I hope I did not offend you.  After all, you know what you're talking about.  I was just so angry about people boycotting and dictating who should see this movie, though.....

It's the rebel in me :)

I will keep reading your blogs.  You Have lots of depth in what you say!

In Appreciation,

Kim

Megan Smith 5 pts

Hi Kim,

Forgive me.  I see you have read Lainad's post and left a comment there.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

Megan Smith 5 pts

Hi Kim,

You're absolutely right that this kind of abuse is not in any way exclusive to the black community.  It's reprehensible no matter who it happens to.

However, without trying to speak for all black people, this movie is a particularly sensitive issue for some black people because:

1.  There are so few authentic and positive representations of black people on the big screen. 

2.   No matter how well crafted the movie is, some of the stereotypes that some black people feel are perpetuated in the film.  For example, the beautiful, black, light-skinned teacher who helps Precious. 

If you want to read more about this, check out my fellow BlogHer CE's excellent post with very relevant links.  Here's the link ( http://www.blogher.com/precious-and-representation... ) and it's written by Lainad.

Thanks for commenting.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

My Review Blog: Meg's Rad Reviews ( http://www.megsradreviews.com/ )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

kimsisto 5 pts

I work for the school district and have witnessed some of these unbelievable, horrific behaviours myself.  It is almost too much to bear...or as you stated so beautifully "Im finding it hard to breathe."

~~~But this is REALITY not fantasy.  This is our screwed up world....

 Not only for Blacks...This dysfunction affects All of us.  It is about humanity....which does not come in a certain color.  It's about what is happening out there with our kids, our parents, our society....

I don't understand the comments about boycotting this film!!!  That's like putting your head in the sand and ignoring the problem.  That's like saying it doesn't exsist.....

It Does.

Precious is NOT a representation of BLACKS.  It's about ALL of us.  The human race.  And believe me, honey, this dysfunction is happening all around us.  Yes, it is....

What we need to do is love one another, reach out, listen.... and get our damn head out of the sand. 

Because once your head is buried, you cannot see the light......

  .

Megan Smith 5 pts

I respect your opinion however the difference between this movie and so many other movies with black characters, is it's attempting to do more than just make a buck by parading gangsta rappers or men dressed up as overweight black women for comic effect across the screen.

If the movie were not done so well and came off as exploitive, I would not have been angry at the characters in the film but at the filmmakers. 

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

My Review Blog:  Meg's Rad Reviews ( http://www.megsradreviews.com )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

Megan Smith 5 pts

Thanks for your kind words.

You're right about needing to have our stories told.  And like it or not, this is one of our stories. 

But I'll say it once again, like I do every few weeks or so:  I don't see myself or my family or my friends on the big screen.  If those stories were told more often, it would present a more well rounded picture of who black people are.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

My Review Blog:  Meg's Rad Reviews ( http://www.megsradreviews.com )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

Megan Smith 5 pts

You're so right that "awareness is critical."

Thanks much for your comments

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

My Review Blog:  Meg's Rad Reviews ( http://www.megsradreviews.com/ )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

Clamo88 5 pts

Thanks for writing from your gut the way you did, Megan.

My instinct is to not want to watch this film because I am so painfully aware that this IS REAL, and ugliness like this happens in every race, every culture. I'm the type to have such an emotional reaction that I get depressed I can't step out and change the world all by myself. It's tough. That said, I'm thankful that these stories are told, because awareness is critical.

Megan Smith 5 pts

Hi Jenna,

Yeah, it's a tough call. 

It's interesting, I just saw Gabourey Sibide on David Letterman and I can't tell you what a relief it was to see Gabby the actress, as opposed to Gabby portraying Precious.

Here was this lovely girl, laughing and giggling with Letterman and talking about how she got the part within three days of auditioning and all I could think was how relieved I was that I could replace some of the images of Precious from the movie with the lovely young woman on my screen.

Part of me feels ashamed of that because it feels like I'm abandoning girls in Precious' circumstances, but for now, I'll take what I can get.

Amazing how the mind works.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

My Review Blog:  Meg's Rad Reviews ( http://www.megsradreviews.com )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

JennaHatfield 9 pts

I've been struggling with whether or not I should shell out the cash and see this in the theater. I do believe, thanks to your review(s), I'm going to wait to watch this at home. The issues are big and in my face and are most likely best viewed where I can cry and yell in the privacy of my own home.

Thank you, truly, for taking off your professional hat and sharing the true grit of this film. I *will* see this movie. Just not in the theater.

@FireMom ( http://twitter.com ) from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com )

Megan Smith 5 pts

Hi Candelaria,

I hope stories like this really can help people give voice to their own pain and help them find a way to heal it.  Also, if they open up a world to people who don't realize this exists and who may have the power to help, that too is a good thing.

It's just that after leaving that movie theatre, I couldn't think straight about any of those things.

Regarding my feelings about black men, I hesitated even writing what I did because I knew what I was implying when I wrote it and how unfair that was.  But I was such a boiling mass of emotion I needed a way to express it.

I absolutely understand the biases I bring to the table but I felt for that instant someone, anyone had to lash out for the Precious's of the world.

Believe me, I really do know there are wonderful, kind, supportive black men who though they may be as you say be, "poor, black and urban," struggle every day to keep their families safe and cared for. 

Unfortunately there aren't enough of them in our communities and the ones that are there are almost never lauded for their struggles.  That too is a terrible, terrible shame.

Thanks so much for your thoughts.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

My Review Blog: Meg's Rad Reviews ( http://www.megsradreviews.com )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

Candelaria Silva 5 pts

I've been thinking about whether I'll go see Precious or not. 

The hoopa surrounding the movie and the book before it, remind me of The Color Purple when it came out and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide...by Ntozake Shange. While I know women who have experienced abuse at the hands of their mothers, fathers and step-fathers and mothers, and I was severaly abused by my grandmother, etc.,, it is not a story that I necessarily want to broadcast and havne't written about.

I'm not sure whether seeing brutality heals people.  It may make you feel better that you're not alone in what you've experienced.  I tend to be a person who sorts for the good in life and I know that for me, replaying my own abuse over and over wasn't good.

Lots of people are more attracted to big, dramatic, traumatic, angry, violent, etc., stories than ones that are uplifting.  Filmmakers can make things more potent with their visual images.  I don't know that if I were an actress, I'd want to give life to something so vile.

As for hating Black men after seeing the film - if only for a moment - I will say that my current husband and my son and lots of men I know are peaceful, respectful, positive, and decent people who would not and have not violated women.  I have a friend whose daughter was violated by her stepfather (something she found out in the past couple of years).  the friend has been divorced from this man for years.  Her two sons (one of whom is his biologically) are wonderful, upstanding men who treat women with the upmost respect.  One of them has full-custody of a daughter he had with a woman who was a neglectful parent. So, I think we have to remember that while there inevitably stories about children who've suffered this sort of abuse, there are children in our community who are loved and treasured even when there parents are financially poor, black and urban.  There doesn't seem to be much room for films from this angle.

Anyhow - thanks for sharing from your gut.

http://blog.candelarisilva.com ( http://blog.candelarisilva.com/ )

Good and plenty!

Denise 9 pts moderator

I'm very interested in the number of people who are calling for a boycott of the movie vs the number of people who haven't said anything negative about the book.

I probably won't see the movie, though Megan's post made me want to see it. I have read the book and it's excellent. A heartbreaking, amazing piece of writing.

~Denise BlogHer Community Manager
Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net/ )

brownatural 5 pts

I don't even want to see the movie, I think it's a bad representation of blacks as usual.

Houseonahill 5 pts

Wow, Megan.

This was an excellent post. I have not seen the movie, and am not sure that I will...for many of the reasons you stated. You moved me so much I am teared up and emotional. Also, as a black woman, I too know our pain and don't feel I can bear it, speak of it nor watch it any more than I do for my employment purposes every single day-maybe one day.

I have best wishes for the cast and the movie however, "we" are always asking for our stories to be told in a real way...so of course I wish it the best.

Thank you!!

Houseonahillorg

www.Houseonahillorg.blogspot.com ( http://www.houseonahillorg.blogspot.com/ )

www.HealthierHappierHouseonahill.org ( http://www.HealthierHappierHouseonahill.org )

Megan Smith 5 pts

I haven't read the book, so I have no way of comparing, except having read your post about it, I have a good sense of it.

As I said before, the decision to see the movie is a tough call.  For me, all I know is I can't see anything like this again for a very long time.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Entertainment Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

My Review Blog:  Meg's Rad Reviews ( http://www.megsradreviews.com/ )

Twitter:@MeganSmith ( http://twitter.com/MeganSmith/ )

Nordette Adams 6 pts

Having read the book, I'm up in the air on seeing the movie on the big screen. I don't know if I can handle it.  Thanks for linking to my review. I took your gut reaction to heart. 

Nordette Adams ( http://www.bookotopia.com ) is a BlogHer CE ( http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile... ) & you can find her other stuff through Her 411 ( http://her411.com ).