"Precious documents an adolescent life in a hellish world, yanking on heartstrings and finding hope in the end"
When it comes to the word precious and movies, it’s tough not to think of a kidnapped girl trapped in a hole trying to lure a small dog over the edge. ”Here Precious,” she calls out in The Silence of the Lambs, a movie still terrifying today. While vastly different films, Precious is just as frightening, and the title character suffers just as much as that poor, kidnapped woman. In fact, it’s arguably worse to watch Precious’s plight, for she’s a captive of not just one lunatic, but her family, a city’s bureaucracy, and her own, crippling self-doubt.
The full title of the film is Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, but the phrase ”Presented by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry” receives equal billing in the advertising. If this seems like name-dropping, after seeing the film, you’ll understand why they want to put their stamp of approval on it. It’s one of those rare films not weighed down by its enormous buzz. The viewer’s only dilemma is that it’s so tough to watch, you can only hope that it’s worth the tears.
It is.
Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is anything but precious to those around her. Life is an existence in the third circle of hell: mother Mary (Mo’Nique) throws plates and strikes with pans, deadbeat dad is the father to his daughter’s children, and extreme obesity ensures that few look beyond the weight to the struggling teenager inside. Illiterate, pregnant and expecting her second child by her father, Precious is trapped in her own metaphorical hole with seemingly no hope of rescue.
It’s not until Precious finds an outlet at an alternative school that she starts to value herself and her unborn child. It sounds like Dangerous Minds as seen from the other side of the teacher’s desk, but it’s better than that. Much better.
To read the rest of Tim’s review, hop on over to Metro Weekly, where his article is currently running.
Director: Lee Daniels
Rating: R
Runtime: 1hr 49mins
Tags: Drama, Gabourey "Gabbie" Sidibe, Lee Daniels, Lenny Kravitz, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Precious
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