Film of the week: Precious: Based On The Novel 'Push' By Sapphire (15)

Damon Smith • Published 7 Feb 2010 14:00 0 Comments

ACCORDING to figures released this week by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), an average of 60 children are sexually abused in Britain every single day.

It's a shocking statistic, even more so when you consider that so many more corruptions of childhood innocence go unreported, so many more voices go unheard.

Precious: Based On The Novel 'Push' By Sapphire is a harrowing account of one of these voices - a 16-year-old girl living in Harlem - and the journey of self-discovery that leads her out of the darkness.

Don't be lulled into a false sense of security by the 15 certificate: Lee Daniels's film is punctuated by entirely necessary scenes of cruelty that almost compel us to turn away from the screen in horror and distress.

When writing the script, screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher was forced to make significant changes to the original book by New York-based poet and teacher Sapphire.

Hardcore scenes have been cut entirely, and peripheral characters fleshed out to provide flecks of humour and greater emotional support for the overweight heroine during her rites of passage.

Most noticeably, the writer allows the central character, Precious, to temporarily escape her predicament into colour-saturated fantasy sequences, where she imagines herself on a red carpet with Tom Cruise or wowing the guests at a fashion show.

The film begins with sixteen-year-old Claireece Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), aka "Precious", being summoned to the office of school headmistress Mrs Lichtenstein (Nealla Gordon), to answer worrying rumours that she is pregnant for a second time.

Threatened with expulsion, Precious agrees to attend an alternative schooling project called Each One Teach One instead, run by literacy teacher Ms Rain (Paula Patton).

The inspirational and caring tutor encourages Precious to keep a journal and to believe in herself.

However, the pregnant teenager must contend with her monstrous mother, Mary (Mo'Nique), who would rather batter her daughter to a bloody pulp than ever let her leave.

Precious: Based On The Novel 'Push' By Sapphire pulls no punches in its depiction of the lead character's ordeal.

We genuinely fear for the lives of the teenager and her first baby, trapped in a cramped apartment with Mary, a sadist who treats her daughter as an emotional and physical punch bag.

Sidibe fully deserves an Oscar nomination as Best Actress for her compelling portrayal of a young woman attempting to break the cycle of abuse and intimidation.

Even more impressive is Mo'Nique's fearless embodiment of Mary, managing to reveal the tiniest chinks of humanity in her repugnant character's armour.

Daniels directs with assurance, coaxing a superb supporting performance from Mariah Carey - sans make-up - as a conservative social worker who can barely contain her tears as she listens to Mary's confession about the abuse perpetrated under her roof.

Unlike so many, Precious musters the courage to speak up. Thankfully, her cries for help are heard.

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 04 Feb 10

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