May be triggering: Precious movie trailer
I’d be shocked if you haven’t heard the buzz about this movie. If you’ve seen it, by all means, share your thoughts here. I’m saving it for a time when I can handle the intensity – so it will likely be one of my infamous lagged reviews. Somehow, I think ten years from now, this movie will still be relevant. I do deliberately sidestep the politics of fat – just showing up is a political statement. And this story has way more to it than just bodies. If I have something to add to the conversation, I will. For now, when I’m able, I simply plan to give it a read and a listen.
This movie, FYI, is based on this book by Sapphire:
I saw this film yesterday and I don’t think this is a film about being fat or the politics of fat. Of course Precious does get her share of negative comments about her size and they figure into her sense of self in a negative way. But believe me when I say that fat comments are such a minor part of her problems, none of which are self-inflicted, that we would wish that was all she had to deal with. Her life is and has been horrendous – almost beyond description – almost since birth. I think that rather than being a movie about fatness, this is a movie about redemption; a movie about the potential impact of caring people; a movie about moving beyond abuse and horror to sanity. especially for the next generation.
The new young actress who portrays Precious does so with enormous sensibility and verisimilitude. Precious’ triumph in this movie as portrayed by Gabourey Sidibe is truly of heroic proportions. And I would wonder about the soundness of the soul of anyone who watches this movie and at the end is still thinking (disgustedly) of Precious as just some fat girl.
As to the comment of the reviewer in the video, well I wouldn’t pay her too much attention. To suggest that if theme is an old one then using it again is redundant is ridiculous. This movie is no clone of any of the others she mentions.