Salt Lake Tribune Review
It's a small miracle that a story as filled with tragedy and heartbreak as "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" -- the movie that won over the jury and audiences at this year's Sundance Film Festival -- would also be as hopeful and life-affirming as it is.
Like any teen, Clarice Precious Jones (played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) dreams of being a movie star or a supermodel. But just escaping her Harlem apartment, circa 1987, would be something. At 16, Precious is obese, illiterate and pregnant with her second child -- the result of a rape by her father. Her self-worth is so low that when she looks in the mirror at her dream self, it's a skinny white girl.
Precious lives with her monster of a mother, Mary (played by the comedian Mo'Nique), who constantly assaults Precious verbally and sometimes physically. Mary's only concern is that Precious not do or say anything that would keep the welfare checks from coming.
When Precious is transferred to an alternative school, called Each One Teach One, she thinks it's just another bureaucratic shuffle, another place to fail. But the teacher, a caring idealist named Blu Rain (
Paula Patton), encourages her to learn her letters -- and to write down her thoughts and feelings in a journal, an outlet the beaten-down Precious has never before had.
Director
Lee Daniels and first-time screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher don't shy away from the pain of Sapphire's novel, a classic in African-American literature. Precious moves as if the whole world is against her, since much of that world -- in the form of her mom, cursing her out and throwing objects at her head -- actually is.
It's not always easy to sympathize with Precious, who at first seems more unwilling than unable to change her fate -- and resorts to survival techniques such as a dine-and-dash at a chicken joint. But Sidibe shines in the role, capturing not just Precious' despair but also the hope that burns underneath. It's a stunning debut.
As the wicked mom, Mo'Nique tosses away all glamour and fires off her character's selfish, spiteful rage with both barrels -- and her final scene with
Mariah Carey, who also drops the glamour to play a jaded social worker, reveals the pain that fueled that anger.
Visually, Daniels pulls out all the stops, juxtaposing the dank reality of Precious' life with luminous and colorful moments from her fantasies of a better life. But what blazes brightest by the end of "Precious" is Precious herself, a character who has taken us through her personal hell and shown us the way out.
-- Sean P. Means
One of the Best Films of 2009 and the best film at Sundance '09.
Submitted by: brook e.
This film is the best film I saw at Sundance 2009 and one the very best films of 2009. It is a hard film to watch. You've already heard this. Now go see it because you need to see it. It will not be an escape. It will not be pleasant. It will make you uncomfortable and sad. But it will also inspire you to stop whining about your own cushy life and see the world through the eyes of a young person who is not loved by her family, a student who is falling through the cracks, a girl who is learning top become a strong woman by overcoming unbelievably difficult circumstances, circumstances that would cause the average person to fall headlong into severe depression, drug abuse, and suicide. Precious Jones is a real heroine. This film affirms that every life has value. This film also affirms that abused individuals can break free of destructive families and abject environs if society gives them the opportunity. See this film. Yes, it's a bit of cinematic medicine, but it's also a great film with great performances and a incredible power. This is one of 2009's very best films. Not every movie needs be an escape. Some films like this one are essential to the experience of going to the movies. Bravo, Lee Daniels! Mo'Nique will win the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. Nobody else comes close. See it and you'll see what I mean.
The rundown: A teen (Gabourey Sidibe) tries to escape a life of sexual abuse and a monstrous mother (Mo'Nique) in this scorching, well-acted drama. 110 minutes. (SPM)
Synopsis: Set in Harlem in 1987, it is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones, 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, 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, Precious begins a journey that will lead her from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light, love and self-determination.
This film is the best film I saw at Sundance 2009 and one the very best films of 2009. It is a hard film to watch. You've already heard this. Now go see it because you need to see it. It will not be an escape. It will not be pleasant. It will make you uncomfortable and sad. But it will also inspire you to stop whining about your own cushy life and see the world through the eyes of a young person who is not loved by her family, a student who is falling through the cracks, a girl who is learning top become a strong woman by overcoming unbelievably difficult circumstances, circumstances that would cause the average person to fall headlong into severe depression, drug abuse, and suicide.
Precious Jones is a real heroine. This film affirms that every life has value. This film also affirms that abused individuals can break free of destructive families and abject environs if society gives them the opportunity.
See this film. Yes, it's a bit of cinematic medicine, but it's also a great film with great performances and a incredible power. This is one of 2009's very best films. Not every movie needs be an escape. Some films like this one are essential to the experience of going to the movies. Bravo, Lee Daniels!
Mo'Nique will win the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. Nobody else comes close. See it and you'll see what I mean.
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