A Precious Film (My Review Titles Keep Getting Better)

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire is the full name of this movie. I had never heard of the novel Push nor did I know who who Sapphire is. It is an interestingly long title for a film that somehow came in at #3 at the box-office last weekend in only 174 screens. I have yet to mention how this film is almost impossible to sit through. It's not hard to sit through because it's bad, on the contrary it is actually an amazing film. It's so hard because of the huge amount of pain and suffering being experienced by the protagonist, Clareece Precious Jones. Clarice is haunted by memories of lambs being slaughtered when she was a little girl, she hears them screaming. And she thinks the only way to stop the screaming is to take down the ruthless serial killer, Buffalo Bill. Unfortunatly the only way for her to catch him is with the help of a deranged cannibal named Hannibal Lecter... and that ladies and gentlemen was a synopsis of the film Silence of the Lambs. Getting back to Precious she is tortured by her mother and the only way to ease the pain of her home life is to go to an alternate education school, but she can only do that with the help of the seemingly perfect Ms. Rain. Well that was not a very accurate plot description, but it was close enough and it sounds like the one for Silence of the Lambs. The special thing about this movie is the performances, apart from a few interesting camera movements towards the beginning, the camera is mostly stationary, I stress mostly. But the performances by Paula Patton and Mariah Carey, and the two performances I think are Oscar worthy Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique as Precious and her mother. It is unbelievable to see Mo'Nique, who's most memorable film role before this was in Phat Girlz, can pull off such an amazing depiction of a woman so horrible, you want to step onto the screen and punch her in the face. Talking about Gabourey Sidibe, it is impossible to process that this is her 1st film role. She shows such raw emotion in some scenes I had to turn away from the screen. Yet she is so great she draw me into the screen at the same time. It is an experience that shouldn't be missed by anyone who is interested, just be warned it isn't an easy watch.
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push by Sapphire - 4 out of 4
-Zach