Precious Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

I don’t know anybody like Precious. I don’t know anyone who has been viciously bullied at school. I don’t know anyone who has been sexually, physically, and verbally abused by their parents. I also don’t know anyone who has given birth twice before even learning how to read or write. Or maybe…I just don’t know if I know anyone like Precious. I can’t imagine anyone throwing these life milestones out at any class reunions. This is why I, and assumingly many others, was shocked at the events in the film adaption of Sapphire’s novel Push. In the film, a young woman named Claireece Precious Jones suffers unspeakable crimes at the hands of her family, classmates, and strangers. Her mother deals out the most abuse seen on camera. However, the audience soon learns that her father has repeatedly raped Precious and she is pregnant with his child. Because of this, her principal sends her to an alternative school.

Although the performances by Gabourey Sidibe and Monique have been widely critically acclaimed, (both were nominated for Academy Awards with Monique taking the prize for best supporting actress) my favorite performances in the film were the interactions between the girls in the alternative class. The young women, Rita, Rhonda, Jermaine, Joann, and Consuelo, are all people I “know.” They’re the friends I go to school with, share secrets with, cry with, and most importantly, laugh with. The actresses brought such natural performances that I almost wanted to be in that classroom with them. If their interactions with one another were simply lines and directions from a script then Hollywood has a very special group of young actresses on their hands and more credit should be given to their performances. I don’t know how Precious would have survived her terrible circumstances had she not met such wonderful people and I don’t know if I could have fully appreciated this film without these characters. In the beginning of the film, I viewed Precious’s life as so unbelievably different from mine that I did not know if I would understand this film. By the end of the film, I still recognized the extreme difference in our lives, but her interactions with the girls in her alternative class helped me see her character as someone I “know,” a friend that I would sympathize with and want to make a happier person. A friend that I go to school with, share secrets with, cry with, and most importantly, laugh with.