Movie Review. Precious.

I really hate it when Oprah tells me I have to like something. I get her exitement. But, first of all, her track record in film is less than stellar, and she pushes, pushes, pushes. And, then she calls someone in the film and tells them they will be nominated for an Academy Award. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. No offense, and I’m an Oprah lover, but she needs to not jinx people with her methodology of hyping a film on her show and then watching it bomb.

Precious

Precious isn’t going to bomb. The topic includes everything that is at the height of societal review; incest, obesity, education. And it’s all in one film. How could it lose? Well, it could have. Biting off so much and not going over the line where someone wants to look away – needs to look away – is an art, and they mastered it this time.

Stunning performances by everyone in the cast makes this all come together in a precious few hours of time well spent by each of us. Mariah Carey - well done. You clearly have a soul that has suffered. It’s written on your face. And, Mo ‘Nique, who plays Precious’ evil mother, brings a rawness to the screen that shows she is not afraid to stand naked – butt ugly naked – in front of the world. I guess comics have that strength, they just don’t use it normally in a serious place and time. Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the large Precious, was made for the role. She takes her time with it, hurries nothing and brings a real sense of layers to the person beneath the fat. I loved her and know that she brings to the part the pain that hides underneath obesity. Trouble is, there are no roles for people her size and thus this might be her finest hour on screen, which would surely be a shame.

Mo'Nique

Precious is about someone’s awakening from that which has been thrust upon her, to that which she chooses to go out and find. What is it about some people that enables them to rise above adversity so great they should be buried beneath it? There was the homeless girl who lived on the subway and ended up at Harvard. There is Oprah herself who came from abuse, mother rejection and other challenges to become the most powerful woman in media. These are not accidents, but there is something in these people that helps them rise above.

I had the name of the film with me throughout. The fact that her mother named her Precious when she was born tells us that she loved her at the start. The road her own life took created the hatred for Precious. I’m not sure that is so unusual in terrible situations. For me, it wasn’t about Precious finding the precious part of herself as much as it was her mother losing it. Don’t you just love titles that take you to the questions?

See it. If nothing else, it puts your own life in perspective and gives you the inside look into others that are just inside the windows of the houses you pass as you drive through the Harlems of our country’s cities.