Yesterday, courtesy of a friend in the Screen Actors Guild who receives promotional DVDs of films under awards consideration, we watched the movie Precious, Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire, while the snow was piling up in our Philadelphia suburb. The movie is visceral, moving, and commands attention throughout, so if you're like me and think that the worst thing a piece of creative work can be is boring, you won't have a problem with that issue here.
But the movie, expertly acted and creatively directed- is a challenge in many ways, mainly because of its unrelenting grimness. In fact, I think Precious is even grimmer than the producers intended it to be, because the glimmers of hope that eventually surface really don't- in my view- offset the terrible things that continue to happen to the central character. But you may feel differently. Still, it's a quality production all around, and I'm still a fervent believer that every movie doesn't need to be feel good. Just prepare yourself for this one if you intend to see it.
By the way, the movie is being returned to my friend without any sidetrips to an illegal production facility. I'm more than capable of slight naughtiness, but I'm enough of a boy scout to actually buy into the notion that movie piracy is a big deal.
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