.....and came away impressed and depressed on several levels.
The Link
The acting is great and the story is very powerful, mostly distressingly and disturbingly so.
As a white dude, I've played gigs in otherwise all black bands, but really the closest I've been to knowing about life in the Harlem ghetto has been listening to Stevie Wonder's "Living For The City," which I assume was actually written about Detroit, or seeing James Brown perform live (just like he did at the Apollo) in six sucessive decades from the '50s until he died in 2006.
I sometimes watch Tavis Smiley and I dug Soul Train on TV, but I don't claim my black social awareness to really be all that aware.
"Precious" reminded me of "The Color Purple" had that movie been in an urban setting, but for me to classify either of those as a "Black Movie" would show me as less socially conscious than I am.
Rather, this is a human story, as were "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Harder They Come," "City of God" and "Once Were Warriors."
They all explored humanity and inhumanity.
"Precious" doesn't end with much hope and there's no reason it should.
Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique are unforgettable in their leading and supporting roles and Mariah Carey as a caring social worker, Lenny Kravitz as a helpful male nurse and Paula Patton as a dedicated teacher are memorable.
Director Lee Daniel, himself an Oscar directing award nominee as is this film for Best Picture, did a good job of leavening this heavy material to make it more watchable.
If "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" showed everything bad that happened.....well, you get the idea.
It's best said by this movie's tagline:
"Life is hard. Life is short. Life is painful. Life is rich. Life is....Precious."
Comments?
The Link
The acting is great and the story is very powerful, mostly distressingly and disturbingly so.
As a white dude, I've played gigs in otherwise all black bands, but really the closest I've been to knowing about life in the Harlem ghetto has been listening to Stevie Wonder's "Living For The City," which I assume was actually written about Detroit, or seeing James Brown perform live (just like he did at the Apollo) in six sucessive decades from the '50s until he died in 2006.
I sometimes watch Tavis Smiley and I dug Soul Train on TV, but I don't claim my black social awareness to really be all that aware.
"Precious" reminded me of "The Color Purple" had that movie been in an urban setting, but for me to classify either of those as a "Black Movie" would show me as less socially conscious than I am.
Rather, this is a human story, as were "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Harder They Come," "City of God" and "Once Were Warriors."
They all explored humanity and inhumanity.
"Precious" doesn't end with much hope and there's no reason it should.
Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique are unforgettable in their leading and supporting roles and Mariah Carey as a caring social worker, Lenny Kravitz as a helpful male nurse and Paula Patton as a dedicated teacher are memorable.
Director Lee Daniel, himself an Oscar directing award nominee as is this film for Best Picture, did a good job of leavening this heavy material to make it more watchable.
If "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" showed everything bad that happened.....well, you get the idea.
It's best said by this movie's tagline:
"Life is hard. Life is short. Life is painful. Life is rich. Life is....Precious."
Comments?
