Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

I'm so glad I finally saw this- it was tough to see a lot of new releases during finals and such. Precious is, as the title suggests, based on the novel by Sapphire, which I have never read and admittedly hadn't heard of until the film started getting press. The eponymous lead character (Gabourey Sidibe) is an overweight, illiterate teenager pregnant with her second child (both from her father raping her). After being kicked out of school, she enrolls in an alternative school that prepares young women for the GED. She is taught by the compassionate and patient Ms Rain (Paula Patton), who encourages her to apply herself more, something no one else ever took the time to do.

At home, Precious is continually mentally and physically abused by her mother (Mo'Nique), who uses her and her grandchild (who has Down Syndrome and lives with Precious's grandmother) to get welfare checks. When Precious begins seeing the social worker Mrs Weiss (Mariah Carey), the sordid aspects her life come to light and, with the encouragement of Ms Rain and her new friends from school, the prospect of a different future suddenly becomes more attainable. Interspersed throughout the gritty story are various flashes of the glamorous life Precious imagines for herself, often juxtaposed with her real-life traumatic experiences.

Like many, I walked into this expecting something pretty dim, but really Precious is a good mix of heartwarming coming-of-age tale and dismal situational drama. For inducing hopelessness, it's no The Road. I enjoyed the more casual scenes of Precious and her friends hanging out, or her conversations with Ms Rain. These, coupled with the bittersweet dream sequences, kept the film from becoming a bleak and depressing affair. The trauma and horror of the story isn't sugar-coated, and it's by no means a comedy, but because so much is dedicated to Precious's developing ability to overcome her problems and figure out what she can achieve, the film has a more hopeful tone. The story itself is told as a series of snapshots in her life, making it a little disjointed but narratively interesting.

Of course the performances are the big deal here, and certainly Sidibe and Mo'Nique are deserving of the acclaim they've been receiving. The character of Precious seems a bit rough and stale at first, but as we learn more about her, Sidibe infuses her with vitality, range, and subtle complexities. Mo'Nique is terrifying for the most part, and just incredibly despicable. And yet, somehow at the end she manages to make me believe in her (admittedly limited) humanity after I've already spent the whole movie hating her. I enjoyed Paula Patton a lot as well, who reminded me a bit of Miss Honey from Matilda.

Precious is a pretty damned impactful movie. It's at times fanciful and at others searingly raw, held together by the incredible performances and moving script. Also, yay for a movie with an almost completely-female cast (that isn't primarily about heterosexual romance) getting so much attention!

4.5/5