Last weekend, PJ and I saw Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire. I was more than a little hesitant to see this movie, because the trailer makes it clear that it’s about a teenager who is physically, verbally, and sexually abused. But it’s a major Oscar contender, so I had to see it. I’m glad I did; it’s definitely one of the best movies of the year.

Here’s the trailer:

The first thing I have to say is that this is one of the stupidest official titles ever. Did Sapphire require the producers to include the subtitle? Why not just require them to call it Push? As is, it just seem clunky and arrogant, whether the latter is true or not. Do they really expect people to say the whole title if it wins Academy Awards? If I were an Academy member I would be tempted not to vote for it just for the title alone, which would be unfortunate, since it deserves several nominations and at least some wins.

Precious is about the eponymous character, who is sixteen and pregnant with her second child. We quickly learn that she has been raped by her father, her mother’s boyfriend. She lives with her mother, who lives off Precious’s welfare checks, and generally makes Precious’s life miserable. Precious waits on her mother hand and foot, mostly out of fear that her mother will turn abusive without any notice.