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I saw it, y'all. It's an excellent film, but it's so heartbreaking. It's almost difficult for me to recommend it, because it's hard for me to suggest that someone else experience the sorrow I felt watching it. But you HAVE to see it, because it's a phenomenal movie. Lee Daniels outdid himself on the directing tip and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher did a dope job transforming the novel into a script.

Precious was originally Push, a novel by a sister named Sapphire. When I first heard about the project, I spoke to a few people who had read Push and they were all shocked that it was coming to the screen. Admittedly, I didn't begin reading the book until after I had seen the film, but believe me when I say that Daniels stayed to true to the horrors of the novel without making it unbearable to watch. There were enough lighthearted and sweet moments to remind you that there is a world with joy and love that exists for Precious; unfortunately, fate has caused her to encounter an unreasonable amount of pain and hatred before she discovers it.

In a recent interview with Katie Couric, Sapphire admits that she was initially skeptical when Daniels approached her with his interest in bringing Push to the screen:


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The author's involvement with the film seems to be a part of the reason for the film's critical success. I appreciate that Daniels lacks the hubris that buoys other filmmakers, who shall not be named and knew that this story would best be told with the involvement of it's creator.

Sapphire was also an active participant in the casting process. Here, she talks about choosing Gabourey Sidibe for the role of Precious and what they were looking for in the film's leading lady:



Sidibe did a phenomenal job. Phenomenal. Her interpretation of Precious is so nuanced and loving, it blows your mind. Or, if you are unable to fathom that an large, dark complexioned Black woman can play a tragic character that isn't mired in autobiography, you may just assume Sidibe is being herself. She isn't, as Jezebel's Dodai smartly points out:

Admittedly, I haven't seen the movie. But those who have knew they were not seeing a documentary, right? It's meant as a testament to Sidibe's superb acting that people are confused, but there's something upsetting about being unable to accept that an overweight black woman is just acting miserable. It's as though people think Sidibe — because of what she looks like — must be damaged in some way.

... director Lee Daniels says: "Sidibe grew to be herself by the end of the movie. Not even herself, but a fraction of herself. To play Precious, she had to unwork all her confidence, and speak lower, slower, and gutturally. Only in the fantasy sequences" — when Precious dissociates from rape and abuse by thinking about runways and red carpets — "do you see who Sidibe is, bubbly and giggly."

Sidibe is well aware of how she's been perceived … and portrayed in the press: "They try to paint the picture that I was this downtrodden, ugly girl who was unpopular in school and in life, and then I got this role and now I'm awesome," she tells Murphy. "But the truth is that I've been awesome, and then I got this role."

It seems that the Black movies (and their breakout stars) that get the most attention are those that reinforce notions of Black tragedy and deviate from cultural normatives that are mistakenly referred to as "American" as opposed to "White", "middle class", etc. The character Precious makes white folks far more comfortable than Michele Obama. She's an illiterate, obese and impoverished teen mother. And while this film requires viewers to consider the humanity of this sort of person and to unpack their preconceived notions about girls who society would prefer to scapegoat or ignore, it doesn't challenge many of the widely held ideas about Black ghetto life. In fact, a lot of people may walk away aware of horrors they had not previously considered. I hope this folks realize this is human tragedy, not typical Black life.

Nevertheless, it's a great story and a great film. Precious is NOT the story of every ghetto, every big Black woman, every teen mother. It speaks to things that can happen in any community: incest, rape, illiteracy, sizeism, marginalization, etc. And while I long for the day when Black films that don't travel such familiar territory are also recognized for their merit, I hope that Precious does big numbers in the box office, because it's one of the best films I've seen in quite a while.

Precious film website
@katiecouric CBS News Online
"Precious Actress Still Trying To Convince People It's Just Acting"- Jezebel