Movie Review: Precious Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

How often do we approach life with perspective? How often do we recognize the truth about the world we live in? We the people are ignorant of the world around us. We see images and hear whispers of pain and suffering every day. But how do we respond to them? How do we learn from them? The answer to both those questions revolves around the idea of empathy. We feel compassion for the suffering and shed tears for the wounded. We curse the violence and bemoan the hatred involved in acts of cruelty. But do we ourselves feel compelled to make a difference? Do we search our hearts for the motivation to change someone's life? There are many of us who do not. But there are some of us who do; relying on their hope, their faith, and their love to somehow impact the world in whatever way they can. Lee Daniels' new film Precious, based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire, is a film that captures the essence of pain and suffering. It is a film that grabs hold of you and smacks you across the face with a bitter sense of reality. But it is also a film of great hope and empathy; a film of raw and intense passion that examines its title character from a unique and totally engrossing perspective.

Daniels forces his audience to see the truth and not look away, daring us to become part of Precious's world and achieve a knowledge of America's wicked societal underbelly. He thrusts his audience into a world that is both cruel and hazardous to the development of a young girl's confidence and self-respect. Precious is an overweight African-American 16 year old living in the slums of Harlem, New York in the 1980's. She was raped by her father on multiple occasions, bore his child who has Downs Syndrome, and is pregnant with his second child when the film begins. She is also living with a mother embittered by jealousy and hatred, both of which she uses against Precious whenever she feels like it. She is the ultimate mother from Hell and there are many sequences in the film where Precious cannot escape her wrath. So the world that Precious is accustomed to is a world of unmerciful and relentless struggle. Her future has already been laid out, with virtually little to no hope of escape. So how does she cope with it? By fantasizing about skinny white models with incredibly sexy boyfriends who strut down that runway believing they're God's gift to humanity. This is what she thinks about when she gets abused by her mother or raped by her father. And for certain periods in the film, it is the only thing she has. What Daniels is commenting on with these fantasy sequences is how America has developed an ideal standard of living, which involves being skinny and being attractive. The fact that Precious dreams of being white is understandable because they still represent the majority of the privileged and elite in this country. These fantasies, combined with the physical and emotional torture of abuse, prevent Precious from seeing the potential in herself as a human being. That is until she encounters Ms. Rain and Mrs. Weiss.

It is in these scenes with Ms. Rain and Mrs. Weiss that the film derives its emotional power punch. For the first time in her life, Precious meets two people who seem to care about her emotionally. She meets two people who go above and beyond their job description in order to save her from herself and from the nightmare that is her life. There are moments in this film where Precious is finally able to see her potential as a human being; where she is able to express herself by writing in her journal and by having relationships that are loving and authentic. Yet the film's strength is showing how those moments are compromised; how Precious's mother is so terrifying and unnatural to her daughter that one wonders how Precious is able to last so long. She lasts because she holds on to the idea that there are people in her life who care about her and love her. And in the end, the story becomes a triumph of the human spirit because Precious is able to transcend beyond the cruelty of her parents and move on with her life.

Precious is a film that is unflinching and uncompromising. It shows you things you may not want to see and is certainly not for the faint at heart. It speaks volumes to us because it is not simply a story of an overweight African-American girl. It is a story that so many Americans, regardless of their skin color, can relate to. Audiences should not merely relegate this as a story of black poverty and differences in social classes. Rather, it must be studied as an examination of a human soul. And on that merit alone, Precious is able to succeed on so many levels. The anchor of the film lies in rich performances from Gabourey Sidibe as Precious and Mo'Nique as Precious's mother. In order for the film to be as powerful as it is, both of these actresses needed to nail their characters out of the park. And both of them do so in a big way. Sidibe is electrifying as Precious, highlighting her character's vulnerability and insecurity while also paving the way for her own self-discovery. It is a daring and dynamic performance that is richly deserving of an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. And Mo'Nique is incendiary as Precious's mother. Through her use of language and body movement, Mo'Nique creates a portrait of a monster eating away at Precious throughout the course of the movie. It is only in the final 30 minutes of the film that Mo'Nique allows us to understand the depth and complexity of her character, begging the audience for sympathy but never receiving it. It is definitely one of the great performances of the year and should be recognized come Oscar night. The performances of Sidibe and Mo'Nique are interchangeable. One cannot work without the other in order for the film to succeed. And because both actresses deliver on all counts, Precious becomes cinema that is truly precious.

Lenny's Grade: A-