Lionsgate Films | 2009 | 109 mins. | Rated R
Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Precious is a film I avoided seeing for as long as possible. I knew it would be hard to stomach. Now that I have seen it, I can say what I suspected is true, but even so, every movie watcher should see this inspirational tale once in their life. Few would blame you if you avoided Precious during its run in theaters: the story concerns an obese, illiterate, 16-year-old from Harlem who finds herself pregnant (for the second time), at the hands of her own father. She lives with her mother, who physically and verbally abuses her at every turn. It’s no wonder the girl has all but given up on life. However, she does seem to find some solace in the act of going to school, though she’s only in the seventh grade.
The girl, Claireece “Precious” Jones (she goes by Precious), and she’s played with astonishing rawness by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. Precious´ mother-in-name-only Mary (Mo’Nique) reacts with jealousy rather than sympathy or any recognizable maternal instinct. Precious has stolen her man and he has given her more babies than mama ever got so to hell with her. This woman is truly hell on Earth for her daughter. Mary constantly calls her daughter fat, ugly, worthless and stupid. Precious has taken these words to heart, retreating from the world in favor of a fantasy life where she is glamorous, has a boyfriend and is the center of attention. At times, her fantasy world also involves her being white which she associates with being pretty.
Hope comes in the form of an alternative school called Each One Teach One. Her class is populated by other girls who dropped out or were kicked out of public schools for various reasons; even in a group of kids that have gone through similar or worse ordeals, Precious remains the most timid. Gradually, with the help of a caring teacher named Ms. Blu Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins to open up, and write in her daily journal which she shares with both her teacher and her class, though never with mom.
There are more obstacles in the way for Precious, some life changing. However, no matter how dire the circumstances, one gets the feeling that Precious’ life has been changed for the better because of her interactions with Ms, Rain and the other students; for the first time, this girl who had a life of dead ends, just might find a real love and acceptance from others, and a place in this world for herself.
Director Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer) produced Monster’s Ball and The Woodsman, so he’s pretty well-versed in harrowing subject matter. He does a very impressive job here, working from a script adapted by first-timer Damian Paul. Bold and uncompromising, Daniels never backs away from the tough subject matter or attempts to soften the rough edges. He is aided by a terrific performance from newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. Her confident, yet restrained take on the title character makes the story deem realistic, and keeps the film from being entirely too difficult to watch.
Precious is presented 1080p in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The film looks great. Shot on Arriflex cameras on 35mm film stock, this independently produced movie looks every bit as good as you would expect from a modern film release. It has a decidedly gritty look to it, but that fits the tough story. That said, there is an appropriately thick layer of relatively-fine grain throughout the film, additionally, there is an occasional “bloom” or glow/halo that emanates from bright light sources, outlining cast members that stand in front of them. This is not an issue of focus, or a fault of the transfer. This is a cinematographic choice on the part of the director, cinematographer or both. The black levels throughout are good to great, but a little murky during the night scenes in Precious’ apartment. Fine object definition, particularly skin complexion and detail really come through well here in close-ups, as do the fabric textures littered throughout — whether it’s a leather jacket or a sweater.
Audio is presented via a DTS-HD 5.1 Master. Because Precious is almost entirely dialogue driven, it’s imperative that the dialogue be presented near perfect. Unfortunately, that is the weakest part of an otherwise excellent mix. Now, this appears to be due to the source recording, rather than the mixing, so it’s not the fault of the Master Audio codec. You can understand everything that’s being said throughout the film, but the overall quality of the dialogue recordings isn’t entirely consistent.
The bass/LFE track is either entirely dormant or highly active — with the majority of the time it’s silent. When it kicks in, it sounds great, but not excellent. The daydream sequences and moments of escape for Precious make the most of the LFE track, outside of the songs littered throughout the film. These sequences are very lively and also make good use of the surrounds.
A number of excellent HD supplements augment the main feature:
• Commentary with Director Lee Daniels features the articulate, insightful director talking about the adaptation process as well as the filming.
• From Push to Precious (15:22) provides some excellent information on how the novel Push came to be the film Precious. One caveat: a brief text prelude giving some background on author Sapphire is incredibly hard to read due to the color scheme and font used.
• A Precious Ensemble (18:32) gives some well deserved kudos to the incredible cast. It also points out the vagaries of screen stardom via Sidibe’s serendipitous choice one day when American Gangster was filming on her block and forced her to make a life changing decision.
• Oprah and Tyler: A Project of Passion (9:31) explains how these two got involved with the project after its lauded Sundance premiere.
• A Conversation with Lee Daniels and Sapphire (8:27) is the one relative dud of the extras, too self congratulatory at times, though interesting nonetheless.
• Audition: Gabourey Sidibe (2:33) shows how far Sidibe progressed from her first taped reading to her final showstopping performance.
• Deleted Scene (1:45), with Precious at an incest survivors’ group.
• Reflections on Precious offers three very brief (totaling less than a minute all together) quick thoughts by Daniels, Sidibe and Paula Patton.
The theatrical trailer is also included, as is a bookmarking feature and promos for other Lionsgate releases.
[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Video:” rating=”4.0/5″ group=”s1″ ] [xrr label=”Audio:” rating=”3.5/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Extras:” rating=”0.3/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Film Value:” rating=”4.0/5″ group=”s1″] [/xrrgroup]
