The Brave One

For months I’d been anticipating the release of Precious, at first because of Mo’Nique, whose frightening, upsetting turn as the brutally bitter mother of the title character earned her much-deserved early Oscar buzz, and, most recently, a Best Supporting Actress honor from the New York Film Critics Circle.

Yeah – the comedian Mo’Nique.

Who would have ever though it, right?

Then I fell in movie-watching love with Gabourey Sidibe – thanks, CBS News Sunday Morning! – the newcomer who plays Claireece “Precious” Jones in producer-turned-director Lee Daniel’s powerful film, an adaptation of the novel Push by Sapphire.

I finally saw Precious last night, and to my surprise, as horrifying as it often was, I think I need to see it again. I want to understand it further, and more pressingly, I want to reach into the screen and give Precious a big hug.

Set in 1987 Harlem, this is the story of an overweight, illiterate 16-year-old African-American teen who is pregnant with her second child (by her father), and struggling, really, to stay alive and come out from under the codependent, abusive thumb of Mary, her mother (Mo’nique), a woman who is so full of rage she can’t help but accuse Precious of “stealing” her man and not see how wrong she is.

When she’s not busy watching TV or throwing things at her daughter, Mary, however, is happy to feign caring for her daughter and her granddaughter, who has Down syndrome and who she calls “an animal,” in order to collect welfare. Mariah Carey appears in a couple of pivotal scenes a social worker in an unexpectedly effective performance.

Shortly after we meet her, Precious gets kicked out of school, one of her only safe heavens – she daydreams a lot, especially of a life in which she’s beloved by all as a star, and of marrying her white math teacher and moving to Westchester with him (it’s her escape from reality) – on account of her being knocked up.

She’s directed to an alternative school where Ms. Rain, a teacher (played by Paula Patton), gives her the reassurance she so sorely lacks and needs and helps her find a new path in her life (she encourages her students to write in a journal every single day).

It’s only in that setting, among other troubled students and under the tutelage of someone who actually cares about her well-being, that we see her begin to blossom. Obviously, she’s a strong girl, having endured rape and molestation from both of her parents and constant belittling, and having survived it. She’s come out the other side shell-shocked, yes, but she’s ready to make it on her own.

Even when she gets handed another blow, Precious, and Precious, lets herself wallow (she wonders, rightfullly so, “Why me?” in one of her journal entries), but only for a moment – she needs to stay strong for her kids. But to see her break free in the film’s grueling final scene is an exercise in endurance for movie audiences, a cathartic end to quite a harrowing journey.

My Rating ****

Photo: Lionsgate Films.