The subject matter was nonetheless incredibly painful, but in Lee Daniels' hands it was also hopeful and warm and, at times, even funny. The classroom scenes were real and endearing, and the performances focused.
Clareesa 'Precious' Jones is a pregnant teenager living in 1980's Harlem. While her imagination is alive and active, her reality is a nightmare of physical, sexual, verbal, and neglectful abuse. Even her fantasies showed she imagined life would be better for her with a light-skinned boyfriend, with a white math teacher, or as a thin, blond girl. (I'm not sure if that meant anything or not, but it seemed like it might.) After being expelled from school, Precious is led to a literacy program where she is given encouragement, kindness, and love and where we watch her learn and grow.
This film also takes its audience somewhere the viewer might not otherwise be able to go physically. It gives one the opportunity to walk in someone else's shoes and to learn to empathize with another human being living in a world that might be very unlike one's own. As Precious grows as a human being, so can the audience.
The performances of Mo'Nique and newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe , were worthy of the Oscar win and Oscar nomination. Even Mariah Carey was remarkable. In fact, I would like to see more of that side of Mariah Carey.
5 of 5 stars
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