If ever there was a oxymoronic character name in a film, Precious is it. Precious is an inner city story that, I fear, is all too true. It’s a story of abuse, rape, poverty, and hopelessness that feels like a documentary. Based in more truth than any of us want to believe, the film is based on a novel by Sapphire. The film is different from other movies this year and is punctuated by good performances.
Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey) — Precious is among the most unique movies of this Oscar season. A gut-wrenching tale of a quiet, fat high school girl from the inner city who lives with her abusive mother while her grandmother takes care her child who was fathered by her own father (how’s that for a kid in trouble?), Precious plays like a documentary. It feels like a modern-day To Sir With Love without the music and absent any hope. Clarice, who goes by her middle name, Precious, enjoys math but is functionally illiterate. No wonder given a mother who calls her worthless, treats her like dirt, and uses the “f” word more frequently than a Robin Williams concert. The mother blames her daughter for everything in her life while ignoring what a totally abhorrent human being she is.
Played by author and comedienne Mo’Nique, the mother believes that receiving welfare is a goal, not an embarrassment. She eats and watches TV all day while making her daughter’s life miserable. Like Rob Brown was plucked out of obscurity in Finding Forrester, Gabby Sidibe was chosen to play Precious. For most of the movie, Gabby looks like a first-time actress, playing this quiet lost kid who wants more from life but who hasn’t had a single break in life. She grabs the chance to go to an alternative high school populated by other troubled kids with potential. There, she makes slow but steady progress despite finding out she is pregnant by her father again. There are two twists as the story gains momentum, culminating in a scene with mother and daughter that takes place in the office of Precious’ social worker (played well by singer Mariah Carey). The film is gritty, scary, depressing, heartbreaking, appalling, and somewhat uplifting. When the film is over, Precious is a real woman albeit with two illegitimate kids, an eighth-grade education, and an uncertain future. But believe it or not, she is far better off than she was before. I urge you to see her journey. Don’t expect to be fulfilled, however. All you can be sure of is that at least two Academy Award nominations are likely from this unique film.