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

Precious is a story of characters all hoping for something more, but none of them really working to earn anything. There's no denying that they have suffered at the hands of others and that their lives have spiralled far beyond their control but the constant onslew of glamour dreams and impossible hope with no work put towards such achievements results in a weird sense of apathy towards everyone concerned.

The majority of the visuals are grounded in the real world, circa 1987 in the Harlem district of New York. It's a scummy dirty cesspool of a neighbourhood littered with graffiti and gangbangers exploiting the ugly nature of the slum lifestyle and director Lee Daniels pulls no punches in showing just how hard such a life is to live. The real struggle is just getting through a day for Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) as she attempts to juggle her abusive mother, her seemingly pointless school life and frequent molestation at the hands of her father. When one such incestual incident results in Precious finding herself pregnant for the second time at age 16, she's expelled from her public school and directed by her principal towards an alternative education establishment where she learns to write amidst a group of additional social misfits.

Precious' own dream sequences which are littered throughout the experience deliver her own private fantasies in such a stark brightened fashion that contrasts so harshly from the real world that it only really manages to highten the pessimistic tone of the movie when the happiness crashes down at the end of such a sequence. The soundtrack is a mish-mash of hip-hop and r&b popular songs of varying tone which are completely appropriate when considering the setting but rarely feels as if it is influencing the feel of the movie.

Regarding Precious as a character, there's nothing especially likeable about her; she's a course hardened shell on the outside whose lack of intelligence goes beyond her academic skills. Much of her dialogue gives the impression that she is a younger character than she should be and that rather than trying to better herself and rise above her broken home she expects everything to just work out, as a young child often does. Although Precious inevitably undergoes a substantial progression throughout the running time, it rarely feels like she's made any choices herself and for the most part, seems pressured into doing the right thing. Gabourey Sidibe does as good a job with Precious as she could be expected but the real show-stopper is Mo'Nique portraying Precious' mother Mary. Mary's constant abuse is certainly the emotional centrepiece of the movie and the most intelligent depiction of a broken character the film has to offer as a whole.

Although Precious presents a broken home with characters who are convinced they can do better, it's unwillingness to allow any of it's characters to take any real chances results in a movie that has plenty of heart but refuses to introduce any intelligence to the mix. As a result the film trundles along at minimally appropriate pace, relying on it's cast to make any sort of impression at all.

3/5
(originally posted on Screened.com)