Movie Review: Precious
Precious is a “festival darling” that generated a lot of buzz before its arrival in theaters. Tyler Perry and Oprah WInfrey also decided to endorse the film, thereby raising its profile even further. Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, it is a gritty examination of the harsh realities many children live through and a testament to the power of hope and love.
Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe portrays Precious, an obese, illiterate teenager who faces a variety of obstacles. Precious is verbally and physically abused by her mother, Mary, who is portrayed by comedienne Mo’Nique. She is also sexually abused by her father and is pregnant with her second child. Precious’ poor academic performance results in her being sent to an alternative school. Precious’ alternative school teacher, Blu Rain (portrayed by Paula Patton), sees the potential in Precious and pushes her to learn to read and writes positive notes to her in her journal. Precious deals with her second pregnancy and endures abuse from Mary while attempting to acquire her GED and improve her standard of living.
Precious is an amazing film that manages to be uplifting without being totally cliched. We see the world through Precious’ eyes courtesy of dream sequences where she is rich, famous, and accompanied by her imaginary ”light-skinned boyfriend”. Precious deals with a lot of ugly, uncomfortable situations and every situation does not have a bright and sunny resolution. Gabourey Sidibe brings humor, warmth, and frustration to the role of Precious. Mo’Nique’s performance as her cruel and jealous mother Mary has already generated talk of an Academy Award nomination. Paula Patton delivers an exemplary performance as Ms. Rain, particularly in a classroom scene near the end of the movie. Surprisingly, Mariah Carey is also very believable as an unglamorous social worker that Precious regularly visits. The View ’s Sherri Shepherd and rocker Lenny Kravitz are also solid contibutors to the cast as an alternative school secretary and a male nurse, respectively. Precious is a heartwarming, heartbreaking, and fully engaging film that is worthy of all the buzz and hype that it has received. Precious is an inspirational tale that definitely deserves recognition at next year’s Oscars.
Precious gets a 9/10
