She won an Oscar for her portrayal of “Mary” an abusive, deeply flawed mother in “Precious.”
Now, Mo’Nique is winning praise for a role that tackles homosexuality, religion and family in a Southern town.
Mo’Nique plays, Claire, the devout mother of a young, gay teen in “Blackbird,” which will be shown in Atlanta at 7:15 p.m. and 9:35 p.m. Thursday at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive N.E., as part of the Out on Film festival, which runs through Oct. 9.
In addition to Mo’Nique, it stars Isaiah Washington as the father and Julian Walker as 17-year-old Randy Rousseau, a talented member of his church’s choir, who must come to accept and love who he is.
After reading the first page of the script, Mo’Nique said she got the same feeling she had after reading a few pages of the script for “Precious.”
“If they put on the screen what’s on this paper, it’s going to save lives,” she said. The topic of being gay in the black community or the issue of homophobia in the African-American community has not been explored much on film.
“It’s been swept under the carpet for so long,” she said. Mo’Nique said she had a gay relative, die in misery of AIDS, and was ostracized by some members of her family because of his sexual orientation.
She believes people should be “allowed to be who they are meant to be. You will see our community flourish the moment that happens.”
