Precious

So is Precious one of the most depressing films of all time? It depends on your point of view, of course. For me, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a depressing film. Whereas something like Precious, which has a depressing subject matter, can still be enjoyed on a filmic level. There’s been some mixed reviews for this release and whilst it’s definitely been over praised in some quarters, it has more than enough going for it to fall on the positive side. Based on the novel called Push, Precious tells the story of an overweight teen, who whilst pregnant with her second child, enrols in an alternative school. The first thing to say is that Precious is superbly acted. Gabourey Sidibe is fine in the title role, but she excels when playing off all the other actors in the alternative school, themselves all excellent (though seriously caricatured). Acting honours go to Mo’Nique though, as Precious’s hideous mother. It’s a startling performance, so much so that you are just aching for her to get some sort of comeuppance. There certainly aren’t many laughs to be had when she’s on screen. Ironically enough, despite the dark subject matter, director Lee Daniels does sneak in a few dry laughs. Unfortunately he can’t save the film from it’s main criticism of it being manipulative of the audiences emotions. This does feel a bit movie of the week at time and Daniels fluffs a number of scenes, especially the ill-advised fantasy sequences. It all becomes a bit of a mess at the end as the film starts to become disconnected as various story strands appear and disappear at will. Overall, it’s not quite the sum of it’s parts, but it still “entertaining” enough to deserve the praise it has received.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This feels contrived up to its eyeballs, but its superbly acted and certainly thought provoking. Rating: 7/10.