Precious: Based on the Novel Push by SapphireRated 14 Accompaniment (Sexual Content, Disturbing Content, Crude Content) ~ Runs 109 minutes
Dir.: Lee Daniels, US, 2009
Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey
Golden Globe nominee for Best Picture, Actress, and Supporting Actress(winner); winner or nominee of over 80 Festival and Critic's Awards; Audience Choice at The Toronto International Film Festival. Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
“As powerful a film as you will see in this or any other year, Precious slams you in the chest with its raw but finely balanced portrayal of a teen girl in Harlem whose life is so abusive and dysfunctional that the film can be hard to watch. But if you do watch - and you certainly should - you will see one of the most remarkable performances ever set to film, given by Gabourey Sidibe, an untrained novice who nevertheless breathes pain, passion and mountainous strength into the title character, bringing her to life in a way that leaves you aching and torn by the film's end... Claireece Precious Jones is a 300-pound, 16-year-old girl in '80s Harlem, still in middle school, already the mother of an absent child with Down syndrome, when she finds out she's pregnant again and is consequently kicked out of school. The father of both children is Precious' own father, a drop-by rapist who leaves her to wait on her obnoxious, abusive, welfare-hooked mother. While pregnant, Precious begins attending an alternative school where her teacher encourages her to emerge from the thick emotional shell Precious has built for protection. As a result, Precious moves forward in life ... but how far forward can she really go? Director Lee Daniels walks right up to the edge with this film, time and time again, but never goes over. The temptation to give in to sentiment, to easy resolution, to spiritual awakening and all the other standard fare that normally brings down a film like this is resisted. He gives Precious a dream life, but just enough to make us realize she knows how bad things are. He skirts religion, romance and the classic classroom Dangerous Minds moments and simply lets Precious be Precious. And the film's great wonder is how Sidibe slowly reveals the playful, funny and intelligent girl behind her rock-hard mask. In the beginning, you're appalled by her life; in the end you're still appalled, but you are fully aware of the human being in that big body and the intelligence behind those wary eyes... Sidibe and Mo'nique should both be on their way to Oscar nominations. But this is the sort of film that makes awards seem irrelevant. It reminds you of the power of film, as well as the power - and the horror - that resides within the human soul. You don't just see this movie. You carry it with you ever after.” - Tom Long, The Detroit News. “It's a potent and moving experience, because by the end you feel you've witnessed nothing less than the birth of a soul.” - Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
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