Precious (Lee Daniels, 2009)

For most of this film (apart from the fantasy sequences in which she is totally glamorous and confident) the main character, a sixteen year old girl called Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) wears a blank expression so no one will know how she feels. Overweight to the point of being obese, sexually and physically abused resulting in a second pregnancy, unloved, uncared-for and according to her mother Mary (Mo'Nique), stupid and not worth anything except the value of her welfare cheques; Precious appears to be unaffected by her lot unless she is verbally abused and then she strikes out with all her body weight behind her. I was a little concerned when I started watching this film because Precious is presented as a stereotypical fat black person. She has low self-esteem, eats a 'ten pack' of fried chicken and fantasises about being other than she is. In fact, there was an extremely disturbing scene in which she is dressing in front of a mirror and sees herself as an entirely different looking girl, who is young, thin, beautiful and Caucasian. It upset me to think that this young girl would aspire to another ethnicity, but understood it given her traumatic, poverty stricken home life and the fact that 'white' hegemony is valorised. At a moment in time in which television programs such as 'The Biggest Looser' focus upon individuals who have struggled with weight issues, bullying, eating disorders and societal pressures to be different in a more pleasing way, *Precious* might be seen as a timely comment on body image and the way that people with aberrant bodies are perceived as undesirable and unhealthy. If this is so and I don't believe it to be, as there are other more pressing issues addressed in the film, such as child abuse, incest and teenage pregnancy (often a product of socioeconomic status), then any displeasing aesthetic ascribed to the body of Precious is diminished by the cruel and objectionable behaviour of her mother, who sits in front of the television all day, smokes and eats pig's trotters and occasionally throws things at Precious, hitting and hurting her whenever she likes. However, she too is a sad and sorry example of a system that has little support for women involved in unhealthy and destructive relationships. The scenes in which Precious is raped by her father as her mother looks on at a distance are equally disturbing and intrusive and invites the question: Who is really the monster - those who look different or those who inflict cruel and punishing acts upon them? The answer is not simple, for although there are no excuses for their disgusting and unacceptable behavior, these individuals are also a product of poverty and a lack of education. As the film progressed and the story unfolded we understand this to be a film about how Precious gains a sense of self-worth and a greater sense of who she is through intervention and education. There's a quote at the beginning of the film that says: Everything is a gift of the universe, meaning that the universe often gives us what we need rather than what we want and it gives at the time when it is most needed. It is a sad but uplifting film that encourages greater perception of those who are different - whatever that difference!