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N.Y.F.F 47th

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Reviewed by Nobuhiro Hosoki

 

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire” is a raw account of a 16-year-old girl named Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) living in Harlem in 1987 and abused in every conceivable way, but who learns to rise above her achingly terrible life.

As the film opens, she's pregnant with a second child by her absent father, leaving school administrators with no choice but reassignment to an alternate school. Her mother Mary (Mo'Nique) lives off welfare and subjects her daughter to abuse, but when social workers come around, she instantly becomes sweet and can convince them of her diligence in taking care of her family and looking for a job. In reality, she spends her days doing nothing but watching TV.

Constantly abused by her mother, it's no wonder that Precious has no other choice but to escapee into her dreamworld. But Precious's life radically changes when she starts to attend an alternate school where her instructor Blue Rain (Paula Patton) has the right amount of firmness and warmth to make the previously unmotivated student want to learn. She fights her silence by having her make new friends, a colorful bunch of female classmates ranging from a foul-mouthed Jamaican immigrant to a tough-as-nails girl from The Bronx.

The film is saved by the strong performances of all the female cast and in particular by Mo'Nique's. Usually a funny comedienne, she portrayed the most vile, narcissistic mother imaginable. Sidibe, in her debut role, responds to her parent with fortitude, creating enormous sympathy for her and the mountain of challenges in front of her. And Mariah Carey disguises herself with no makeup and turns herself into an everyday social worker, adding to the phenomenal performance roster. None of the stars take the viewers out of the film

Director Lee Daniels captures contemporary poverty and misery and lays it bare. But nothing we see here is unbelievable, He and writer Geoffrey Fletcher have an uncanny approach on how to develop the story and its dark nature without sacrificing credibility. In the end, the film celebrates a combination of how individual strength and human spirit can triumph.

Directed by Lee Daniels; written by Geoffrey Fletcher, based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire; director of photography, Andrew Dunn; edited by Joe Klotz; music by Mario Grigorov; production designer, Roshelle Berliner; produced by Mr. Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness; released by Lionsgate. Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes.

Cast: Mo’Nique (Mary), Paula Patton (Ms. Rain), Maria Carey (Ms. Weiss), Sherri Shepherd (Cornrows), Lenny Kravitz (Nurse John), Kimberly Russell (Katherine) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious).