I went to see “Precious” on Valentines day.
Wow.
This is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard or seen. What I took from it was: If you’re feeling sorry for yourself, for whatever reason, you should watch this movie. If by the end you don’t feel better about your own life, you are a horrible, useless person. It was really good, but in a bad way. It was interesting, I wanted to know what was going to happen next. But it made me so sad.
I related VERY much to the main character, Precious, when she separated from her surroundings and started fantasizing about a life that was not her own. I did the same thing growing up. I would lock myself in my bedroom and get lost in my books and imagined scenarios where I was somewhere else. I didn’t have it nearly as bad as she did however. I felt much better about my own unhappy childhood after watching this.
She’s an overweight 16 year old. She’s pregnant for the second time by her own father. She’s poor and illiterate. Her mother is extremely verbally, emotionally and physically abusive. Through it all, she still thinks there’s hope for her. One day she will get out and get a better life. Just when you think that things couldn’t possibly get worse, she finds out her father died of AIDS, but not before giving the virus to her. Things just kept getting worse for this poor girl. I wanted to reach through the screen and take her and her two babies home with me.
I’m sure Mo’Nique will take home the Oscar for this one. Not only did she do the standard “got ugly for a role” that seems to make the members of the Academy salivate with awe that someone would be willing to do that, but she was awesome. I hated her. I (cover your eyes) fucking hated her. The fact that she is a fairly known comedian made it acceptable that she was portraying this monster. You knew she didn’t mean it. I think it’s fair to say that she is one of the most hated characters I’ve ever seen on film. I did not feel bad for her. Not even at the end when she breaks down.
Gabourey Sidibe was also amazing as Precious herself. I’ve seen her in a couple of interviews and she is nothing like her character. She seems very sweet and happy. I’m happy she got a nod for her role as well. Especially since this is her first movie. I could’ve lived without Mariah Carey. She’s not a very good actress and her performance was very neutral. Her face didn’t seem to change at all.
It was a very good movie that made me sad. Hard to do. I’m curious to read the book now, so I may have to pick it up sometime.
Other than the Christian Jesus porn “Passion of the Christ”, I very rarely am moved by situations that main characters are placed into. Perhaps it’s having seen so many movies Ive become jaded and de-sensitized towards the plight of the people in the movies I see. Perhaps.
I was filled with such compassion for this young woman and, several times, my heart was heavy with pain at her circumstances. That doesn’t happen very often. In fact for several minutes during that movie I was an overweight, black teen-aged mother feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.
Helluva movie. People owe it to themselves to spend two hours in her shoes.