Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.
Saw it. Mildly impressed. Mainly with the performances. Story, not so much.
I might write some more about it at some point, but just to give you an impression of my thought process while watching the film, I will reproduce here the running commentary I posted on my Twitter account as I was watching.
So yeah.
I might write some more about it at some point, but just to give you an impression of my thought process while watching the film, I will reproduce here the running commentary I posted on my Twitter account as I was watching.
- Ten minutes into Precious. First thought: Yeah yeah, odds stacked against her, a hard knock life, I get it! No need to ram the point home.
- Twenty minutes into Precious. Second thought: Wait, is that Eddie Murphy in a fat suit? When's he going to start farting out loud, already?
- Twenty seven minutes into Precious. Third thought: Rosario Dawson! It's going to be alright ... wait, forget it, it's not her. Crap.
- Thirty-four minutes into Precious. Fourth thought: "My favourite colour is fluorescent beige." Points scored.
- Forty minutes into Precious. Fifth thought. Special schools have gorgeous teachers. Paula Patton is no Rosario, but still, points scored.
- Forty-two minutes into Precious. Sixth thought: Too bad that Gollum spin-off will have to come up with another title now.
- Forty-seven minutes into Precious. Seventh thought: Mariah Carey does a good ugly. Turns out she's a person. With a smokey voice.
- Fifty-two minutes into Precious. Eighth thought: Mariah Carey sounds dubbed, which is something that I can only applaud. Loudly.
- Fifty-five minutes into Precious. Ninth thought: Lenny Kravitz as a male nurse? What kind of demented parallel universe is this!?
- Sixty-eight minutes into Precious. Tenth thought: Does anyone understand anything that Jamaican chick is saying? Subtitles are called for.
- Seventy-six minutes into Precious. Eleventh thought: Mariah's voice worries me. I'm thinking, a female Stephen Hawking, if at all possible.
- Eigthy-seven minutes into Precious. Twelfth thought: The scene with the mother and the counselor, just brilliant. Goose bumps.
- Ninety-two minutes into Precious. Thirteenth thought: Great twist, when Mariah and Lenny turn out to be alien lizard people from space!
9 Comments:
I agree the story, while intense, has been done in some way shape or form over and over and over again. But the performances do stand out. Especially Monique's IMHO. I didn't know she could be so spiteful and hateful. Catty yes, but not as evil as that. When she throws the TV down the stairs, I was shocked beyond belief it happened.
That final bit in the counselor's office is so brilliant. I was like "eh, ok, this is decent" up until that point. My jaw dropped. Not so much because of anything it might have done for the story (not much) but just how non-chalant she was about it.
The Oscar is hers to loose. And she won't.
And I finally saw Hurt Locker the other day. OMG. WOW.
You're quick.
I'll say this: the film is pure oscar bait. And Oscar is very susceptible to that. So yeah, she'll probably nab it. Deservedly, too.
The Hurt Locker. I'll rewatch it soon, it's been a while, but I remember being blown away by it. No pun intended.
Jeremy Renner should, but won't, win Best Actor.
Just, for the love of god, Oscar, surprise me and don't make Precious best film.
Seriously.
I don't see Precious winning Best Film. I personally think that battle is between Avatar and Hurt Locker with Avatar having a slight advantage at this point.
Jeff Bridges is going to win Best Actor and from everything I've heard, its not one of those "career" type awards. His performance in Crazy Heart is actually pretty brilliant from what I hear. And the fact he's never won before, well, that's just another reason he should win. Jeremy Renner is too young and too new overall. But still, his performance was Oscar worthy.
Yeah, I'm fast, sorry. Work is so slow somedays and I become blog comment obsessed. LOL
I'm yet to see 'Crazy Heart'; I might see it over the weekend. I like Jeff Bridges but 'never having won an Oscar before' is no reason to award him one, now. He hasn't won one because he hasn't played Oscar-worthy roles. Subjectively, that is debatable; objectively, that is fact.
The same reasoning applies for not awarding Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker because he is too young/fresh/inexperienced/etc. All of these aspects should be secondary to his performance. It all too often (or almost always) isn’t. Which is a shame. The same goes for Carey Mulligan for An Education – no matter how good a job Mulligan did, she doesn’t stand a chance because she’s under, say, 40 years old.
I don’t see Avatar winning best film. An SFX heavy blockbuster of a film? No. I wouldn’t be surprised if Precious nabs that one, and I’d be delighted if the Hurt Locker gets it.
Awards are never given solely on a performance. Sad but true. But, from what I hear Jeff Bridges role in Crazy Heart IS Oscar-worthy. The fact he's never won prior, well, that's a side note that puts him over the top for the win.
Jeremy Renner is in a similar, yet somewhat opposite, situation. He also had an Oscar worthy role and hit it out of the part. But when compared with someone who has a longer, more storied, career (i.e. Jeff Bridges) he doesn't stand a chance. Most people I bet are saying something like he got lucky this time around, if he's this good all the time he'll get another shot, etc.
Performances are and should be what people vote for BUT it's all the side stuff that makes for interesting dicussion and pushes voters one way or the other. Especially when things are so close.
Which is exactly why Meryl Streep has nabbed so many nominations. Talented actress, for sure, but The Devil Wears Prada? Really? And this year she's up there yet again.
Anyway, I hope you're wrong, I think you're right, and Jeremy Renner and Carey Mulligan are fucked.
Oh, and by the way, Jeremy Renner was rather splendid in 28 Weeks Later also; one of the best zombie films of recent years.
I need to watch the 28 Weeks movies. I'm sort of a zombie purist (I "train" zombies for a theatrical production of Night of the Living Dead every fall) so I have made a point of not muddling the vision of the classic zombie. But I am intrigued enough that I might have to this year. But I still won't let my zombies run ;)
The thing about Meryl Streep is her characters are so thoroughly developed and realized. You cannot find one chink in the armour. Case in point, Devil Wears Prada. In anyone else's hands that role would have been an over the top cararicture. But she so brilliantly found the heart and soul of a supposedly souless character and brought her to life. It was amazing. I stand by the nomination for that role. And for Julie & Julia. Her intrepretation of Julia Childs was astound and again, so rounded out and detailed. No chinks in the armour. And even better, from an actor's stand point, you can't see the work. Its so seamless and effortless. Even her performance in Mama Mia! was astounding. Oh, when she sings The Winner Takes It All, it was like a master class on how to act through a song.
Sorry, I'm getting geeky on my acting. My bad.
Post a Comment
<< Home