Review of Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009) by Stuart K — 05 Sep 2012
The film's title does what it says, directed by Lee Daniels (The Paperboy (2012) and The Butler (2013)), this is quite a gritty and harrowing drama about life on the breadline in Harlem in the 1980's.
It won 2 Oscars a couple of years ago, and despite such a gritty plot, it manages to be quite compelling and moving, but with a hint of hope about it. In Harlem in 1987, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is obese and illiterate, and she lives with her abusive and mentally defective mother Mary (Mo'Nique).
Precious was raped by her father Carl (Rodney "Bear" Jackson), resulting in two pregnancies. The older child is known as Mongo, because she has Down's Syndrome. Mary depends on benefits, but when Precious is taken out of school because of her second pregnancy, she's placed in a special school under teacher Blu Rain (Paula Patton), and Precious reports to social worker Ms.
Weiss (Mariah Carey), who learns about the abuse Precious has suffered at the hands of her mother and her father, but Precious hopes to make a clean break when she gives birth to Abdul. It's a gritty film, but Precious is a girl with an unbreakable spirit.
Sidibe is brilliant as Precious, believable and engaging while Mo'Nique is a force of nature as the mother. It's not the sort of film that you watch to be entertained by, it's one which shows a real way of life that's still going on now.
This review of Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009) was written by Stuart K on 05 Sep 2012.
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire has generally received positive reviews.
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