Lee Daniels's "Precious" is a vibrant, honest and resoundingly hopeful film about the human capacity to grow and overcome.
Set in Harlem in 1987, it is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a sixteen-year-old African-American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother (Mo'Nique), a poisonously angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is a place of chaos, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful secret: she can neither read nor write.
Precious may sometimes be down, but she is never out. Beneath her impassive expression is a watchful, curious young woman with an inchoate but unshakeable sense that other possibilities exist for her. Threatened with expulsion, Precious is offered the chance to transfer to an alternative school, Each One/Teach One. Precious doesn’t know the meaning of "alternative," but her instincts tell her this is the chance she has been waiting for. In the literacy workshop taught by the patient yet firm Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins a journey that will lead her from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light, love and self-determination.
Precious
Maxabout Review
Heartbreaking and riveting dramatic depiction of a black teenage girl's horrific ghetto life.. .
Monday, November 02, 2009
Adapted by Damien Paul from a work by teacher and poet Sapphire, Precious tackles the story of the titular character (Gabourey Sidibe), pregnant, again, with her father’s child, mute, illiterate and obese, fantasizing of life as a peppy white girl. It’s not subtle in these implications, taking it a step further with a monstrous mother (played impressively by Mo’Nique), treating her like a slave, while smoking and watching daytime television.
Precious is about Claireece 'Precious' Jones, an overweight girl who has already had a child with Down's Syndrome from when she was raped by her father. Her mother constantly abuses her and she's already pregnant with her second baby. When she gets kicked out of school and is forced to go to an alternative school to help her get her GED, she realizes that there may actually be hope for her.
Brimming with stylization, no one would accuse "Precious" of subtlety, which isn’t necessarily its fault, as stylistically the film exists to scream a sociological message of education in the face of oppression and cycles of poverty.
The bombardment that Precious unleashes to create such dramatic circumstances especially doesn’t float well when the character’s misfortunes are piled on like plot devices – her pregnancy and first child are only mentioned when convenient to the drama. It is difficult to feel so much for Precious when robots tend to be given more tangible back-stories.
Precious isn't a problem movie. Despite how many obstacles are thrown at Precious, and believe me a whole lot are, the film is still entirely about who Precious is, and mostly, how she can raise her head high and keep going in all these loathsome situations. Director Lee Daniels actually encouraged the audience to laugh, because there are a lot of humorous scenes, intertwined with some incredibly jarring ones.
Handled without sentimentality, despite occasional melodrama interspersed with realism, we understand the pattern of defeat and abuse in woman, as Precious enrolls in an alternative school, where Blu Rain (Paula Patton) prepares her for her GED and classmates offer occasional glimmers of levity.
What sets Precious apart from other ghetto-based movies that try to bring th
e streets to the “film” crowd is the acting.
Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the title character, does a more than decent job in presenting the silent fear of the delicate girl. But the best element comes from
Mariah Carey, who inherits her role as a social worker with little pizzazz and in turn asks for little attention. She shakes off her Glitter looks and works a New York accent quite well – she deserves the most praise for providing something legitimate.
This leaves the final impact of the film to individual (or, more accurately, peer group) taste, as some will surely respect the uncompromising lack of restraint on display, while others will find it desultory and autocratic. Regardless, as a narrative, the film is only partially successful, understanding emotion but not technique.
The screenplay is brilliant, never feeling slow or rushed. The pacing of this film is steady enough that we're engrossed the entire time. Watch out for smaller roles by Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, both of whom appear briefly.
With a breakout, award-winning performance by Mo'Nique and an outstanding performance by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, this film is a must-see. There's too much to enjoy and synchronise with.