Review of the movie “Precious”

I walked into the theater with exceedingly high expectations for Lee Daniels’ new film “Precious.” The past has taught me that such anticipation typically leads to disappointment. But when the film was over and the credits were rolling, I had the sense that it did not receive enough hype considering the incredibly moving story, and the exceptionally believable acting.

“Precious” is the story of a Harlem teenager circa 1987 named Claireece Precious Jones. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe masterfully portrays Precious’ character as a hard-shelled girl who always tends to find a silver lining to the turmoil surrounding her existence. The film was adapted from the novel Push by poet and performance artist Sapphire, and honed in on taboo social issues that are placed in the back pockets of law makers and politicians.

From the very beginning of the film, it is evident that Precious is the victim of every single form of abuse imaginable. Images of the horrors she lived through on a day to day basis remain ingrained in the viewers mind long after the movie is over. For instance, the audience finds that Precious has been sexually assaulted and raped by her absent father. He has impregnated her twice by the age of 16. Rather than protecting Precious from the sexual abuse, her destructive and revolting mother, Mary (played by Mo’Nique), stands by and enviously watches the assaults. She clearly indicates on several occasions that she is jealous that “her man” would rather sleep with his daughter.

Throughout the movie, Mary is verbally, physically, and sometimes sexually abusive to Precious. In addition to throwing frying pans and television sets at the teenager, Precious is regularly told by her mother that she is a “fat ass” failure who will never succeed at anything other than bringing in welfare checks. Precious is forced to cook and take care of her hate-filled mother, while she sits in front of the television set and hurls degrading remarks at her.

One can see the tremendous consequences of the mother’s abuse. Precious’ lack of self esteem and self-hatred is illustrated in one scene where she looks in the mirror and sees a thin white girl, rather than her true reflection of an obese and broken African American teenager who has been unjustifiably rejected by every element of society.

Her family has failed her. Social programs have failed her. The public education system has failed her. She has made it to middle school without learning how to read, and when she speaks, one can hardly understand her fragmented sentences and extremely poor grammar.

She constantly experiences escapism, where she allows her mind to wander off to fantasies of walking a red carpet as a big celebrity. She envisions fans adoring her and praising her every move. But reality slaps her in the face with one bad scenario after the next.

Precious finally finds refuge in an alternative school known as “Each One Teach One.” There she meets a life-changing and optimistic teacher named Blu Rain (Paula Patton). Blu slowly inspires Precious to strive for a better life through education. The teenager’s self confidence begins to evolve once she learns how to read and write. She realizes that she is not dumb, and her healthy curiosity leads her to love school.

Precious is asked to write daily journals, and they become her sanctuary. She expresses her concerns, her dreams, and her hopes of a brighter future for her children.

After years of confusing her mother’s abuse for love, Precious finally sees her parent for what she really is: a poisonous, angry, and scathing low life. This is when she takes charge of her future and makes a difficult decision to protect her children.

Movies like “Precious” are rare and hard to find. Although the story is unquestionably dark, it raises awareness to several serious problems that children in the U.S. face today. Molestation, illiteracy, verbal abuse, and poor socioeconomic conditions are all topics that need to be discussed. Tyler Perry, who worked on the movie with Oprah Winfrey, also experienced a harsh childhood, and says that the film’s brutal portrayal of domestic and sexual abuse “brought back memories so strong that [he] can smell and taste them.”

In addition, the acting in the film was so convincing that I left despising Mo’Nique with every bone in my body. Even Mariah Carey’s performance as a social worker deserves an applause. And of course, Gabourey Sidibe did not fail to impress. I was also delighted to see Lenny Kravitz make a short appearance in the film. Overall the movie received my vote for the best film of the year.