“Precious” arrives

Two striking independent films are currently filling big city theaters around the country, and seem poised to pick up year end prizes.  Both will probably make their way to Lancaster, but until then, they’re worth a trip to Philadelphia.

The two films share several qualities; steady direction, well developed characters, and strong visual elements.  Also, both have roots in well regarded books.  But in style and tone they couldn’t be more different.  This week I’ll talk about “Precious,” next week “An Education.”

“Precious,” the 2009 Sundance winner that many expected to go straight to DVD, now looks to be an Oscar contender, as well as a shoe in for a host of other year end awards.  It recently opened to an average of $100,000 per screen in a handful of cities, breaking weekend box office records.  The media buzz, from the New York Times to Oprah and Tyler Perry, gave this movie a perfect send off.

The film is a real roller coaster, but the thrills on this ride are emotional.  And though the material may seem familiar on paper, the direction and performances bring it to bracing life.

Claireece “Precious,” Jones;  black, obese and illiterate, with a down syndrome child fathered by her mother’s boyfriend, is about as hopeless as any movie character we’ve ever seen. At the age of 16 her only shred of self esteem comes from an unlikely fantasy life, and even that has an air of desperation.

She shares a dingy, light starved apartment with an abusive mother who treats her like a pack animal.  The first time we see them together, early in the movie, is one of the most humiliating confrontations I’ve ever seen on film.  The mother’s verbal harangue is so profoundly hostile, it almost takes on a life outside its speaker.  As the scene ends you wonder where the movie will find any more energy.  Turns out it’s got plenty in reserve.

That energy is generated by Lee Daniel’s eclectic direction, the dynamic cinematography of Andrew Dunn and the unflinching performances of the inspired cast.  While I am unfamiliar with the source material, (“Push,” a novel by Sapphire,) the script moves freely from straight narrative to a kind of stream of consciousness that takes us into Precious’ head.  While occasionally overwrought, the relentless forward movement keeps the movie from getting bogged down in any single motif.

Precious’ life is a series of cascading shocks that seem to paralyze her.  In another early scene, several young punks harass and then shove her onto the sidewalk.  As she hits, face first, director Daniels goes in for an excruciating close up.  The shot is filled with a colorful burst of fall foliage, which acts as both a cushion and a catalyst for a flashback/fantasy.  It’s so strong the movie almost stops.  Then, before you can shake it off another sequence reveals that Precious is carrying a second child, from the same brute who gave her the first.

As she takes painful, baby steps toward moving outside her self imposed silence we wonder what, if anything, this character has to hang on to.  Her clenched features and solitude seem to be her only defenses.  But little by little she finds the stubborn voice of a survivor, fortunately, without the kind of predictable uplift that usually plagues the genre.

Gabby Sidibe, who grew up in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, is fearless in the title role.  Her face, in the early sections, is a study in sphinx like mystery.  Only after much prodding, as she begins to express herself, does her stony mask soften, and then, just enough to signal a process within.

Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, appear both world weary and upbeat in key supporting roles.  Carey, in particular, shows sensitivity without sentiment. The merciless but deeply human close ups make you wonder if the whole cast went without make up.

But finally it’s a comedian, Mo ‘Nique, playing Precious’ hectoring mother, who owns the movie. She delivers the most ferocious performance of the year with not a moment of affect, getting inside the role with uncanny precision.

More than just a one note terror, Mary is a deeply deceptive and inspired monster, whose compulsive selfishness blots out any other impulse she might have.  Whenever she shows up an alarm seems to go off, warning that anything can happen.  Her last scene, which is almost a movie within a movie, will be studied by acting students for decades.

More often than not, inner city dramas are shot with an oppressive, colorless palette that taxes and ultimately tires the eye.  But Andrew Dunn, the cinematographer, has graced this story with a wildly diverse color scheme.  Steely bright blues and grays of New York in winter are contrasted with a variety of interiors, ranging from the grungy, mud hued murk of the apartment where Precious lives, to the amber glow of a happy, middle class home where she finds a brief refuge.

He’s also succeeded in capturing the mad energy in harrowing moments of domestic violence.  When people take off on one another you feel part of the action.  And you don’t want to get in their way.

Director Lee Daniels made his name as the producer of “Monster’s Ball” and “The Woodsman. Both tackled risky, difficult issues.  “Ball,” Halle Berry’s Oscar winner, was a frank look at mixed race relationship, and a hit. “Woodsman,” a tough minded film about a child molester, was not.  One thing about Daniels; he doesn’t flinch in the face of difficult material.  His first film as director, “Shadowboxer,” which I have not seen, had a lot of people shaking their heads. But you can be sure that after “Precious” people will be taking another look.

So why were its prospects, post Sundance, considered so limited?  It fits squarely into the time proven “survival in the face of extreme adversity” genre.  It’s distinctly American, and, for a low budget indy, handsomely produced. It focuses directly on one main character, keeping her front and center right from the start.  It features powerful performances and a couple of pop stars. Why wasn’t it scooped up immediately?

Did distributors fear that nobody, black or white, would be interested in the fate of a fat, inner city teen?  Was the film’s power that far beyond their empathy?

The problem is, that, for most big distributors, a ten or twenty million dollar gross, a huge number for a low budget indy, isn’t worth the time and effort it takes to place the movie in theaters.

The usual thinking is that a small company will play the film off in a half dozen key markets, after which, most people will find the movie on DVD or cable.  Which is a shame, because this, like “Slumdog Millionaire,” is a first rate theatrical experience, best shared in a large theater with a crowd.  Fortunately the way it took off, “Precious” is set to blast through the impressive opening numbers.  It’s going to be a hit by any standards.

And why?  The filmmakers took the risks the material called for.  And they executed with skill.  Whether luck entered into it after that makes little difference now.  “Precious,” like “Juno,” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” before her is taking her place in our vibrant pop culture.