Precious

To be honest, I was somewhat dreading seeing Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, a movie that every in-the-know filmgoer with street cred "must see" because it's such a "crushingly real" piece of filmwork. The description alone is overwhelming: an illiterate, friendless, obese 16-year-old girl named Precious lives in Harlem with a mother subsisting on welfare. Wait, there's more! Her mother is abusive in pretty much every way possible and Precious is pregnant with her second child. Oh, one more detail. Both pregnancies were conceived in rape...by her father. Umm...you think you'd rather catch Old Dogs instead? I get it--not exactly the nachos-and-Milk Duds storyline one usually looks forward to. I went somewhat pulling myself by my hair ready to sop up my hope and humanity off the floor with soggy tissues after watching it, armed with DVR'd episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" as a chaser if necessary.

Wow. All I can say, if you were pushing off seeing it like me, I advise you step up to the mic and order yourself a ticket. This film is so well-crafted, well-performed, well-written--I give it an A.

It's not a stretch to believe that all the characters exist in reality, including Precious (whether as two or three girls or a composite) as well as her mother, teachers, fellow classmates, etc. The performances of all the actors are outstanding. Sad to say, the most fantastical element is probably the alternative school she attends where the class size is less than 10 students. When the reviewers say this movie is inspiring, don't expect that Precious wins the Nobel prize or loses all that weight and gets discovered as a supermodel. The movie remains grounded in reality when it reminds us that rewards and goals in life aren't always fabulous wealth, fame, glamour, etc., but are often realistically much simpler.

Not to say I didn't cry watching this movie (holy cow, there were points I wanted to sob out loud) but I also laughed. The movie gives us bites of levity and hope to prevent it from becoming the totally despairing picture it could be. This movie, coupled with Mo' Nique's outstanding (yes, Oscar-worthy) performance, should also be credited with allowing us insight of, and even sympathy for, Precious's abusive mother--a character that is often and easily written off as simply villainous.

The tag line for this movie is "Life is hard. Life is short. Life is painful. Life is rich. Life is....Precious." This slogan is apt--this movie brings it. See it. And be sure to bring tissues.