“There are so few current movies about black lives based on black books that this movie needs to remind us not that it isn’t based on a true story (although it could be) but on a chilling work of fiction. The full title serves a promotional purpose: Dammit, we made a movie based on a book written by a black author!
On one hand, that’s silly: What bearing does an announcement of the movie’s provenance have on the experience of watching that movie? On the other, it’s important. In the rest of the movie universe, films adapted from novels and plays by white authors (Shakespeare, Dickens, and Neil Simon aside) don’t announce their source material. Picture it, “Ryan: Based on the Novel ‘Up in the Air’ by Walter Kirn.’’ So “Precious,’’ which is more or less an independent film, brings with it a degree of politics. “Dear Hollywood,’’ it argues, “we will keep on with these extra-strength titles until more adaptations are made.’’
