| Singular Movie Review: Precious |
| Sunday, November 22 2009 |
  By Y.C. Rodriguez In the world of movies, stars rule, and overexposure of the same actors and same formulaic stories makes it easy to decide what not to see. Precious is cut from an entirely different cloth of experience, created by players who are not normally given voice in Hollywood but are talented and worthy. Their stories represent what more adventurous film lovers want to hear and what we need to begin to know.  Clareece Precious Jones, 16 years old and pregnant again, has ruined her mother’s life by becoming her father’s sexual favorite. In the title role, newcomer Gabourey Sidibe gives us a young girl whose wide black face fills the screen, her deep, ebony cheeks are like cushioning walls that bear up against the brutality of her sad young life. As dear mom, played by Mo’Nique, menaces with frightening bravery, a woman toxic with annihilating despair and rage. To escape her cruel reality, Precious goes to school where the mundane acceptance of her situation is almost as shocking as the threat of violence. Unusually frank and spare, this perspective of a tragic beginning is leavened with frothy scenes of Precious’ self-preserving fantasy life as a beloved starlet, a role that lets us see her shining, beaming interior. Precious is an Oscar maker, so says the buzz, but the real shining gold object here is Precious’ irrepressible instinct to survive, to protect that which is most precious, most loved and which gives us hope.  Filmed in greasy ochre tones, her neighborhood is smeared with an inescapable patina of generations of bare subsistence. When Precious returns here after giving birth, director Lee Daniels assaults the audience with one of the darkest and most harrowing scenes I have witnessed outside of a horror movie. Not for the faint of heart, Precious is dangerous and disturbing to watch but it’s impossible to look away. Watch the trailer Running Time: 1 hr. 49 min. Release Date: November 6th, 2009 (limited) MPAA Rating: R for child abuse including sexual assault, and pervasive language. Distributors: Lionsgate Films Cast and Credits Starring: Mo'Nique , Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Gabourey Sidibe, Sherri Shepherd Directed by: Lee Daniels Produced by: Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Lisa Cortes
Emily
I must see this.
Tuesday 24 November 2009, 22:20
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