PRECIOUS - Review

Precious was made in 2008 but was given international recognition once it came to the attention of Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey was so moved and passionate about the story and the character that she took on the task of promoting the film to a worldwide audience.
This is not light viewing again, as this is a story of teenage pregnancy, incest, rape and the many forms of child abuse.
Based on the confronting novel by Sapphire, Precious is the story of Claireese “Precious” Jones, a grossly overweight and illiterate teenage girl growing up the hardest way in New York’s Harlem in 1987.
Directed with sincerity and compassion by Lee Daniels, the actors give gripping and engaging performances throughout. Mariah Carey is almost unrecognizable without make up or hair styling, in her role as social services officer Mrs. Weiss, but she is all the more real and emotive for it.
Lenny Kravitz makes a small appearance as the nurse whom befriends Precious when in hospital following the birth of her second child. He too, is cast against type, instead becoming a support to the amazing performance of newcomer Gabourey Sidibe in the lead role.
Sidibe’s turn as the downtrodden Precious is nothing short of brilliant, particularly as it is in effect, a dual role. Whenever Precious finds herself in a painful and dark place, (which is more often than any of us would care to imagine) she escapes mentally into her dreams of a future. Here, she is confident and projects her inner beauty in sequences depicting her dancing with a boyfriend and walking the red carpet of celebrity.
The film’s tag line runs “We Are All Precious”, and it is here that we find the heart of the film. Although it is a truly gut wrenching depiction at times of a life representing hell on earth for Claireese, it is the ultimate suggestion that there is hope and there can be a way out that underlies the story. You will find yourself wanting to help this wretched character and most likely throw her mother (played horribly well by Mo’Nique) forcibly down the nearest flight of stairs. Precious tries to show that there is a system in place for the less fortunate and abused, albeit flawed at times in reality, to be accessed and supported. In the film, Paula Patton’s teacher Ms Rain is truly an amazingly unselfish and dedicated social worker protecting her “flock” of unfortunates, helping them to become much more than they think they are.
This is a film for all girls that have been or are being subjected to the horrors of domestic abuse, to girls that are left with low or no self esteem or self worth, who need to be shown that they are not alone and that they are as precious as anyone else.