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

Director: Lee Daniels

Time Out rating

Average user rating

21 reviews

Synopsis

Sundance-winning drama about the trails of an obese black teenager

Movie review

From Time Out London

If there was a gold statuette for wall-to-wall compassion, ‘Precious’ would wipe the floor with its rivals this awards season. Director Lee Daniels and writer Geoffrey Fletcher’s adaptation of Sapphire’s novel ‘Push’ oozes empathy from the first scene to the last. It’s inescapably bleak, but occasionally it has the confidence and spirit to emerge from the shadows of its tragic story – the tale of Precious (Gabourey Sidibe), an obese 16-year-old teenager in 1980s Harlem who is abused by her mother and father – to indulge in sly humour and jolly camaraderie before retreating again into the darkness at its heart.

‘My name’s Clarissa Precious Jones… and I want to be on the cover of a magazine,’ says Sidibe. What she gets is less glitzy: we learn of the gross difference between the refuge of her mind and the reality of her life. When her vile mother (Mo’Nique, grotesque, chilling but in the end almost sympathetic) screams, ‘I should have aborted your motherfuckin’ ass,’ Precious imagines herself walking the red carpet at a film premiere. Perhaps most movingly, when she looks in the mirror, she sees a girl who is more beautiful and more white.

So, a better life is possible, but imagination just isn’t enough: ‘Precious’ is a film about real escape, not dreams. The film celebrates a winning combination of individual strength, education and community over the warped logic of the sort of corrupt household where a loveless grandma puts on a wig and feigns love for a Down’s syndrome child, a piece of theatre to secure a cheque from a visiting social worker. It’s a film that acknowledges poverty and inequality while refusing to believe that people can’t escape from their grip. It’s a truly American movie. Its realism is social – not socialist – and its happy flights of imagination recall the magical side of Danny Boyle more than the grit of Ken Loach.

Slowly, surely, Precious attends a special school with an inspirational teacher (Paula Patton), begins sessions with a social worker (Mariah Carey, unobtrusive) and fights her silent, violent and self-loathing tendencies to make new friends, a colourful bunch of girls in her class, from a mouthy Jamaican immigrant to a tough nut from The Bronx. It’s not an easy battle and Daniels has a tendency to land new blows when you think the fight is over. So oppressive and extreme is Precious’s background that you imagine terrible things are about to happen even when they’re not. I didn’t find the film as actively upsetting as many have reported – merely very, very sad.

The film arrives here after winning prizes at Toronto and Sundance and gaining four Bafta nominations. So, should you believe the hype? Yes and no. ‘Precious’ is very affecting and has some great performances, especially from Sidibe and Mo’Nique, but the film is arguably more heart than art. Is that such a bad thing? Perhaps not: when a film shines a light on a desperate way of life and gives dignity to characters barely ever portrayed on screen, you can forgive some clumsy, emphatic storytelling and a narrative that’s too episodic and reliant on voiceover. It’s a film full of life and love, well-meaning and, judging by the reaction in the US, a genuine and important phenomenon that says act – don’t dwell – on your dreams. A genuine Obama-era movie, then.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out London Issue 2058: 28 January – 3 February, 2010

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User reviews of this film

liki said...

Posted on Mar 18 2010 22:44 precious is great movie ! i like the way everyfing is set out beautifully done ! the movie gets really touchie but gerat actors they all suit ther role in the movie

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Thomas Noctor said...

Posted on Feb 20 2010 22:40 Ok 1st things 1st! Acting is supurcb! Story is good, film however aint! Set in the USA in 1987, this film is very unbelievable! A Parent asking to Marry you, another who beats you? Help! It's not 1700 AD here! Very depressing drama that does disturb but as usual another poor Oscar Nominee! Alright for most parts but boring for some. Deserves a 3 for being a little like Dangerous Minds. Not the orst film!

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Jools said...

Posted on Feb 18 2010 01:19 A stunning, shocking, wonderful film. What are you all talking about, you mockers, especially the negative comparison with the saccharin sick-bucket that is 'The Color Purple'? Incredible performances from Maria Carey and the actress who plays the mother. The only weak link, as has been pointed out, is the king, pretty. Miss Honey teacher, who just seems to have wandered into the wrong film. Amazing to see a US film with real-looking black characters, not just light-skinned Halle Berry/Thandie Newton lookalikes.

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Julian Bates said...

Posted on Feb 10 2010 15:10 That's funny but slso true Jerry, nice one!

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jerry58 said...

Posted on Feb 10 2010 10:26 This was not enterainment,was thought proking and the last sceen bettween mother daughter and social worker was moving and powerful but left the cinema feeling dirty and needing a shower

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Julian Bates said...

Posted on Feb 09 2010 03:17 I came to look at these posts just for curiosity -& realised I shouldn’t have done so when I read the negative reviews. Although I don’t adore this movie –& I was amused at one point (the reference to Fame to do with the teacher), but when she said 'I love you' I was quite moved! I think it depends on how you see it: I don’t think I like false-sentimentality, but that point struck the tender part of the film quite acutely! I think it depends on where you're at in yourself at that time!
Also –someone said this is ‘unrealistic’: I find such a comment very naïve and wrong (personally): this is the lives of MANY people I believe: not exactly with this detail, but the lack of options, the deep entrenchment of the family's 'power', the complete self-centredness of some of the characters: unfortunately, some people and some families are VERY like this! I think its psychological portrayal was one of its strengths: it stayed within the understated and the real (The Colour Purple is a completely different film, saying Other things; the comparison is superfluous!).
Yes- Carey was very good in her role, & looked much nicer (she normally looks hideously plastic; here she looked real, and more naturally beautiful).

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Jade said...

Posted on Feb 07 2010 03:09 I didn't like this film. I know I was supposed to - who could help but feel sympathy for the horrors heaped upon Precious? Her life is terrible, the acting is acceptable and....that's not enough to make a great movie. I kept thinking that if you want a film which deals with an abused black woman's journey in a world which doesn't value black women - go watch The Color Purple; infinitely better- it's more expansive, the characters develop over the years, and every second of film has been honed into perfection with real artistry. Whoopi also had a lot more range in the central role than Precious does.
But...back to Precious, the film of the moment: I found the teacher irritatingly smug and the acting contrived. Indeed the whole role of the teacher as inspirational saviour feels done to death anyway, but her saccharine way of relating to Precious, really sounded the deaht knell. I also felt there was a real lack of depth in terrms of character development; the characters didn't feel rounded - did we really get to know anyone? The girl who played Precious was solid enough in the role, and I could believe that her fairly inexpressive face was realistic; she was a person who had to keep things in due to the abuse she received - but, accurate as that may be, I didn't truly feel I got to know her as much as I would have liked.
There were some interesting touches however; when Precious combs her hair in the mirror she sees a slim, white girl, not her obese, black self. In a world where women like Precious are literally nowhere - they are not on our screens, they are not in our magazines, they are not modeling our clothes, it was far and away the most convincing and unpreachy moment.
One final point: Mariah Carey; my least favourite celebrity due to that plastic image and the sense that she is a self-absorbed, diva with little grip on reality. I can only hang my head in shame. Words fail me here. She shocked me. She should seriously consider becoming a working actress and put the singing career on hold because she gets it exactly right here. Brilliant, understated acting, without a single false note. She didn't even look like Mariah Carey, she looked like the woman she was supposed to be in the film; you forget it's her because she is that good. I would be extremely interested to see her in her next role. The actress playing the smug saccharine teacher (the "I love you" moment appalled me, being so poorly delivered) could learn a lot from her.
Overall quite an average film, but at least a film with a refreshingly different female lead.

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Dave Calhoun said...

Posted on Feb 05 2010 08:57 Phil Ince - Thanks for your comment. But, yes, it is the grandmother (of the Downs Syndrome child) who puts the wig on. The older woman is her GREAT-grandmother! Thanks, Dave Calhoun, Film Editor

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Phil Ince said...

Posted on Feb 04 2010 13:39 Trickydicky asked: ‘Am I alone in saying when Miss Rain knelt beside Precious and said, “But I love you, Precious”, I nearly laughed?’
I don’t think I laughed, brother. I’d seen it in the trailer but had hoped it was a phoney moment whose context might give it meaning. Regrettably, it was every inch as phoney as the trailer made it look.
The key thing about that moment is that, ultimately, it's a casual lie. If the teacher says 'I love you, Precious!', what are the consequences of that statement to such a vulnerable girl. It's another element of incredibility in a film that's so full of them. What is this professional woman doing taking a vulnerable girl into her home? Telling the girl she loves her? How long will this love last? What is it good for? What is the consequence of emoting in that way?
Isn’t it an utter piece of self-indulgence on the teacher’s part? She might as well have said: “You’ve told me your feelings, Precious, now listen to mine and be healed by them. Heal! Heal!”
It isn't just schmaltzy, it's phoney. Who could feel the impact of abuse and of utter self-loathing and then feel they were doing anything other than setting Precious up for another fall by making a declaration of love?
This incident was only one of many moments by the makers whose carelessness made this a horror film.

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trickydicky said...

Posted on Feb 04 2010 01:05 Archgate, I think the connection is there is no connection. A Prophet and Hurt Locker are good. Several times I felt like walking out from Precious. Hmmm .... Not sure I'm lacking imagination if I can see Precious's classmates dancing around her and Miss Rain in Fame-style - perhaps Miss Rain could be saying "Fame costs - and here's where you start paying - in sweat", just as the dance teacher in the original "Fame" series did. I think my version of Precious would be more entertaining and uplifting and less likely to leave the audience feeling suicidal.

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ARCHGATE said...

Posted on Feb 03 2010 23:03 I still fail to see the comparison of the two films - other than both of them being released in close proximity. The stories are different, the styles are different and the directors are different. I think you failed to enjoy Precious because your imagination is at fault and you have an inability to be affected by schmaltzy scenes which were designed to .move the viewer. However, thanks for replying. I do appreciate it.

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trickydicky said...

Posted on Feb 03 2010 21:09 Okay, Archgate, it’s been a week since Precious opened in London, and I guess those of us who are real movie buffs, and visit this site regularly, will have already seen it. So I think I can warrant a reply without giving too much more of the story away ...
Like I said in my first post (below), I find “Precious” unrealistic, with pretty much everything bad in the world thrown in. Just because these things exist, throwing them all together doesn’t make for a good movie. I agreed with Phil Ince’s post.
I lost a friend to AIDS in 1993, so I’m very aware of how devastating it can be. But up to the point where Precious had written “Why me” on her jotter pad in class, I’d been betting to myself that HIV/AIDS was bound to rear its head. So when she announced to the class she was HIV, my reaction was “What a relief, that’s that one out the way. What’s coming next?”
Am I alone in saying when Miss Rain knelt beside Precious and said, “But I love you, Precious”, I nearly laughed? It was one of those dreadful schmaltzy moments that used to crop up in “Fame” (the series) when one of the class was having problems mastering a new piece on the oboe. All it needed was for Precious’s class to jump to their feet and sing “Fame, I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly, (High), I feel it coming together, People will see me and cry ....”
Precious is a fairly predictable movie full – to brimming – with all that’s depressing in the world. Something that’s so predictable can’t be called “original”. It’s not the worst movie I’ve seen, but it’s seriously hyped by the press. “A Prophet” is far more original and entertaining. I’m delighted to see it was given an Oscar nomination, as has been “The Hurt Locker” – both are truly original, gripping movies. I noticed as I walked by that “The Hurt Locker” is on at Apollo (Piccadilly Circus). A friend who was in the army and parachute dropped supplies into Kuwait during the first Gulf war tells me he thought it was totally realistic. Like I say, a good movie, and like “A Prophet”, a better movie for your money.

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Phil Ince said...

Posted on Feb 03 2010 13:20 If the people who make reconstruction films for Crimewatch made a movie to give away in The News of the World, this is what it might look like.
It doesn't seem to be interested or able to explore abuse as a whole - the parents’ and grandparents’ backgrounds are incoherently and negligently represented - so it's solely a vehicle for titillation by shock, some finger-pointing and Michelle Obama-style 'inspiration'. In a film that's produced by Winfrey herself, there's an entirely unnecessary mention of The Oprah Winfrey Show that looks gruesomely like product placement.
There are (sometimes) bizarrely truthless events. For example, when Precious’ mother starts talking loudly and then shouting about her abuse of her daughter, the people sitting immediately behind her don’t even look round.
More generally, Precious goes from rejected and oppressed by everyone on Earth to being friendly and visited by every person she meets her; why this happens is not shown. There’s no real sense from the actress’ performance that anyone else is emerging from Precious when she leaves her mother’s home. There’s no sense of her developing new relationships; she just goes to a new place and then next thing we see, the new, general and positive relationships are all formed.
I felt this was a film that communicated as much 'truth' about child abuse as The Full Monty did about unemployment. It's a fantasy and not a particularly good one.
PS: Small correction of Dave Calhoun's review. It's the mother who puts the wig on an feigns affection for the child; the grandmother is looking on appalled.

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ARCHGATE said...

Posted on Feb 02 2010 10:27 Can some clever soul out there explain to me why "A Prophet" is being recommended as an alternative to this film. The two films have nothing to do with each other. If you find one depressing you will probably find the other depressing. I have seen both and neither are depressing. The subject is depressive but the films are not. Ta very much.

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trickydicky said...

Posted on Jan 31 2010 00:09 Phew. I’ve just returned from “Precious”. This is a hard one to review. Clearly word’s got around… The third screen at CineWorld Haymarket was packed. Some of the audience laughed, some gasped, some reeled. This film will certainly stir up your emotions. But by putting as many bad things in a movie as possible (and most of them take place in a two year time frame), does this make the film good, and/or realistic?
Personally, I feel just because Oprah Winfrey’s lent her name to this movie, doesn’t necessarily make it a good one. This film feels like the contents of Pandora’s box made it to celluloid. In his song “Strong”, Robbie Williams sang “Oprah Winfrey Ricki Lake,
teach me things I don't need to know …”. There’s just too much misery in this film to say it felt realistic. Yes, there are bits that are good, and other bits that are funny, but on the whole I feel the hype/publicity machine/press have got hold of it because it is so utterly bleak.
I'd suggest going to see the doc before you go and see this one … beg him for Prozac … tell him you’re going to see “Precious” – he’ll understand.
This isn’t a “classic”. I've got a very broad range of DVDs on the shelves, but this one isn't going to join them. I’m with Paul (below), who suggested you spend your money on a ticket for “A Prophet”.

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