In theaters
PRECIOUS, directed by Lee Daniels, written by Geoffrey Fletcher, 109 minutes, rated R. Now playing, Railroad Square Cinema, Waterville.
Lee Daniels’ “Precious” is about as ugly and as disturbing as any movie in recent memory. It’s unflinching in its violence. Its power comes from its mix of horror, hatred and hope. And while you know this isn’t the case, there nevertheless is the sense that everyone involved in the production has lived through the sort of hell presented here.
This is a slice of the American nightmare, where dreams are seemingly so impossible to achieve, they get pushed into sequences of gleaming, far-reaching fantasy, where real life can’t get close enough to foster them.
Geoffrey Fletcher based his script on the novel “Push” by Sapphire, and what he and Daniels created is one of 2009’s most controversial films, with Mo’Nique and newcomer Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe delivering two of the year’s best performances.
In the film, Sidibe is Claireece “Precious” Jones, a 16-year-old girl who in 1987 Harlem was as much a victim of her own morbid obesity as she was of the cruelty surrounding her. Most of the violence takes place at home, where her father repeatedly raped her — giving her one child, leaving her with another on the way — and where her mother, Mary (Mo’Nique), carries such a festering resent of Precious (“You stole my man! It’s because of you he left!”), she’s willing to kill her daughter with meaty swings of a cast-iron pan, or by dropping a television set on her.
It’s at an alternative school that Precious meets Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), who teaches Precious how to read and works to transform her life. Assisting to that end is Ms. Weiss, a social worker played with focus and restraint by Mariah Carey. As each comes to know Precious’ story, mother Mary is called into question. And how do you think that goes down when she’s brought in to explain herself?
Much has been written about how “Precious” is being received by the black community. Some have called it racist and claims it showcases a kind of slavery. Others disagree. Some recall the films Spike Lee made in the ’80s, they remember the nerve they touched, and they’re pleased this movie also is touching one — if only to continue the conversation about race in America and how it’s viewed by Hollywood.
Perhaps the unrest surrounding “Precious” also comes down to this: Too many of today’s audiences don’t want to feel uncomfortable at the movies — life is tough enough. Shouldn’t movies offer an escape? Knowing this, Hollywood fuels the masses with films they can leave behind at the theater, which is a radical departure from the ’60s and ’70s, when movies were widely discussed on an intellectual level. The surprise “Precious” offers is that it’s that rare film that has risen above the daily chatter to create a debate. So, it should be celebrated for that.
Watching “Precious,” you have to wonder — does it offer this year’s inconvenient truth? For some, it does. Others will tell you it doesn’t. What’s key is this: While “Precious” isn’t perfect — elements are forced — those elements nevertheless are overcome by the sheer force of Mo’Nique and Sidibe’s searing performances, which are worthy of Academy Award consideration and which overcome a story that sometimes is too pat and seems designed for white liberals. About that last part, the fact that Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry produced the movie only adds to the discussion.
For all of these reasons, “Precious” must be seen. It offers that rare opportunity to talk about how blacks are viewed in today’s movies — the main portal for popular culture — and whether Hollywood is doing them a service or a disservice.
Grade: A-
UP IN THE AIR, directed by Jason Reitman, written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner, 109 minutes, rated R.
Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” is about a man who would prefer to stay up in the air, thank you very much. His name is Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) and his job is to fly around the country, enter gleaming skyscrapers and fire the unsuspecting corporate masses. He’s as good at this as he is at flying, the latter of which he has down to a science, as the movie reveals through the wit and calculated swiftness of Dana E. Glauberman’s beautifully efficient editing.
Reitman (“Juno,” “Thank You for Smoking”) wrote the script with Sheldon Turner, and what they offer is a movie that’s as much a comedy as it is a tragedy — both for Ryan, who has commitment issues, and for all those he fires due to the dire economic climate and the corporate downsizing that goes along with it.
For Ryan, the irony is that he is about to become a victim of downsizing himself when his boss, Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman), decides to take the advice of his latest employee — the young, determined and fiercely pinched Natalie (Anna Kendrick, wonderful) — and perform their layoffs by computer.
The idea is this: In order to save Craig’s company a fortune in traveling costs, his staff soon will sit in front of a monitor and a camera while the person about to be laid off will do the same somewhere else in the country.
But Natalie has it all wrong. As cold as Ryan’s job is, there’s a lot to be said about being in the same room with the person he’s about to let go. At the very least, doing so offers the human touch necessary to soften the blow. And that’s what Ryan is so good at. He is so smooth, some people leave with the feeling that he’s done them a favor (the film employs people who have been laid off in real life — they are not actors).
Beyond this, the idea of being grounded in Omaha, where he keeps a shabby apartment, is terminal to Ryan (pun intended), whose dream it is to be part of the 10 million mile club, and whose life in the air has allowed him to meet all sorts of women, one of whom has recently caused him to pause. Her name is Alex, she’s played with intelligence and a jolt of sexual heat by Vera Farmiga, and she’s essentially Ryan’s opposite — a mature career woman traveling the country who doesn’t mind a little sex on the side with the right guy.
But to what end? It’s that complication, the outstanding performances that spool from it and the fact that everyone here needs to grow up a bit (Clooney and Kendrick should receive Academy Award nominations here, and I’d be happy if Farmiga followed suit), that makes “Up in the Air” so satisfying, funny and rich. The addition of Ryan’s family, who barely know him, only adds to the undercurrent of what really matters in life. Is it time spent serving your own needs, or taking a risk and allowing others to come close? Pithy films would send a love letter to the latter, but Reitman makes a sound argument for each. It’s how he answers that makes “Up in the Air” one of 2009’s best films.
Grade: A
WeekinRewind.com is the site for Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s blog, DVD giveaways and movie reviews. Smith’s reviews appear Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.