Turning tragedy into art

A cultural phenomenon when it was released in the United States last fall, Precious was anointed with Hollywood's official imprimatur at this year's Academy Awards, winning two Oscars (for adapted screenplay and to the comedian Mo'Nique for supporting actress). The awards confirmed its tremendous crossover appeal, which has made Precious an exception to the general run of films being made by African-American auteurs today.

Precious is a portrait of a teenage girl living in oppressive circumstances. The title character (Gabourey Sidibe) is overweight and illiterate. She is bearing her second child, both of them the product of parental rape. Her mother, Mary (Mo'Nique), abuses her for no other reason than the fact that she's there.

For solace, Precious escapes into occasional fantasies in which she is feted and honored in American Idol-type settings. Two real-life women seek to help Precious. One is a glamorous teacher, Ms. Blu Rain (Paula Patton). The other is a weary social worker, Mrs. Weiss (Mariah Carey). In an alternative education class, Precious finally finds a form of self-expression, and develops friendships with some of her peers.

The film is based on the 1996 novel by the poet Sapphire, which was somewhat lightened in tone by screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher, who also added in the fantasy sequences. The director is Lee Daniels, formerly a producer of such controversial adult dramas as Monster's Ball and The Woodsman.

The tradition of American social problem movies is typically one featuring cinematographic properties that are as grim as the subject matter. Pinky and Gentleman's Agreement, for example, are as flat and morose to look at as they are to comprehend. Not so here - Daniels doesn't adopt a grim, flat, grainy style to pictorialize Precious' world. Instead, he simulates the unexpected beauty of the world around her by visualizing it from her state of mind, focusing on small objects as a synecdoche for Precious's feelings, opinions or fears. This technique was also used in Monster's Ball, where meaningful static close-ups of objects like a child's toy carried a message.

To some, such cutaways can seem a touch too artsy, forcing our eye solely to what the filmmaker wants us to see. But Daniels' approach is more expansive. His aesthetic is more an exploration of an individual consciousness than some kind of agitprop.

Of course, the authenticity of the movie is grounded in the excellent and realistic performances by Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey and others. Sidibe was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the title role, but, in an act of hubris that mirrors the fantasy sequences in Precious, Sidibe talked herself out of the award by speaking with some arrogance about her chances for winning and how she felt such praise was her due. In fact, an equally interesting movie might be made about such an unlikely person being plucked from obscurity and catapulted to a fragile fame that is undone by her own personality.

On second thought, that's a story that happens in Hollywood every day.

D.K. Holm can be reached at
features@praguepost.com