Precious

I'm well known for chickening out from watching certain movies. If I know enough about it, I will often avoid it if I'm not in the mood. While this mostly applies to scary or violent films, I put off watching Precious for at least a month since nobody is ever in the mood to watch a film about sexual abuse, HIV, illiteracy, teen pregnancy, body image issues and inner city poverty. And as always I felt silly after the fact, because the movie is in fact extremely entertaining and even uplifting at times.

I have the star Gabourey Sidibe to thank for that, her charisma allows her to shift between comedy and drama effortlessly within what is a very bleak story. Pregnant with her father’s child, living with an abusive mother and lagging behind in school, Precious has very little going for her.

She is also wracked with self esteem issues due to her dark complexion and weight problem, which leads her to daydream about light skinned boyfriends and a glamorous life.

Also this throws down a gauntlet for Hollywood; here is a really talented actress who plays a character who suffers from body issues because of how Hollywood picks women. Seriously try to think of truly dark skinned black actresses or overweight actresses who have no problem finding work, the list is pretty short.

As you can imagine this film is not a constant downward spiral, at some point she is given a helping hand in the form of a committed English teacher who is part of a special program. While this is a common movie cliché I really did love the classroom dynamics, the realistic expectations and the strong supporting roles.

Also unlike every other "heroic teacher" movie, this one is not about the teacher at all, it is about the troubled student mustering the strength to get out and live a normal life.

Unfortunately her mother is not about to let Precious go without a fight, and as played by Monique she is not a woman you want to mess with. Simultaneously a larger than life villain and pathetic, broken down woman, you really go back and forth between hating her and feeling sorry for her. Performances like this one and Mariah Carry (who knew?) as a jaded social worker elevate this film from after school special to being a poignant (albeit sometimes overbearing) discussion on the trappings of poverty. Despite the fact that I was afraid it would send me into a depression, I now know that I'll be rewatching this gem for its beauty.