DVD Reviews

Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Mar 10, 2010, 17:21 GMT

Precious Jones, an inner-city high school girl, is illiterate, overweight, and pregnant…again. Naïve and abused, Precious responds to a glimmer of hope when a door is opened by an alternative-school teacher. She is faced with the choice to follow opportunity and test her own boundaries. Prepare for shock, revelation and celebration. ...more

One of the first Oscar winners of the evening was Mo’Nique and Precious would garner one more gold statue for writer Geoffrey Fletcher. The film is full of Oscar worthy performances, but the sense of palpable misery and situations may bring you down. However, we never turn away from car wrecks. We just crane our heads to see more.

The year is 1987 and the obese Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) lives with her loathsome mother Mary (Mo’Nique). Her school has found out that she’s pregnant with her second child and has to go to an alternative school. The horror is that the father of the child is her own father.

The other horror is Precious’ mother who continues to abuse the girl physically, mentally, and sexually. When she goes to the alternative school her teacher Miss Blu Rain (Paula Patton) teaches Precious to read. Her social worker, Miss Weiss (Mariah Carey), accidentally discovers the secret incestuous origins of Precious’ second child and the welfare checks stop coming to Mary, enraging her.

Precious eventually gives birth to her son and her hospital stay has her meeting up with friendly nurse John McFadden (Lenny Kravitz). On her return home from the hospital a final violence filled confrontation with Mary has Precious rethinking staying in her home for the safety of her newborn.

“When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions.” The story of Precious really lives up to that Shakespearian quote. Her life is a misery and she is a lost soul. Her tormenter is her own mother who is a devil of her own making. Perhaps the scariest aspect of the whole film is that the horrible things that happen in Precious’ life are commonplace for some.

Precious’ only outlet is to escape into a self-made fantasy world where she’s thin, white, and loved. Gabourey Sidibe is a real discovery and all of the press given her this awards season is well deserved. She may not have won an Oscar, but it was a performance worthy of the honor.

Mo’Nique casts off her comedic upbringing and oozes into the role of the wretched mother. Her turn would win her the gold statue, but the character is pretty reprehensible. There’s an attempt to show the reasoning behind her nastiness, but by the time it happens it’s too little too late.

We’re pretty much in Precious’ camp and are happy that she doesn’t have to deal with mom anymore. The film does end on a happy note and offers up hope for Precious’ future, but we have to slog through some miserable scenes (in subject not in acting) to get there.

I hope anyone who has to deal with such can come out on the other side holding their head high as in Precious’ case. I can’t imagine having to deal with what she does. At least the character takes some control of the events and overcomes them.

Precious is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.85:1). Special features are presented in high definition and start off with a commentary by director Lee Davies. The 15 minute “From Push to Precious” details the journey from Sapphire’s novel to the big screen.

The 18 minute “A Precious Ensemble” details the cast. The 9 minute “Oprah and Tyler” discuss the involvement of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry in the film. Next is the 8 minute “Conversation with Lee Daniels and Sapphire,” the 2 minute audition of Sidibe, a 2 minute deleted scene, the 2 minute theatrical trailer, and 1 minute of final reflections on the film by Daniels, Sidibe, and Paula Patton.

Precious is a film that shows us an ugly underbelly of some lives. The acting is top notch and well deserving of all the attention that the film is getting. We want to look away, but that acting keeps pulling us back in.