Oscars: An Education is Precious

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Staff Writer

Since the Oscar nominations were announced in early February, several of the smaller and limited-run pictures up for Academy Awards finally showed up in smaller markets, if they weren’t already out on video. “Nine” with four nominations and “The Young Victoria” with three recently finished brief runs in Grand Forks, followed by briefer runs of “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (six nominations) and “An Education” (three nominations). “The Blind Side” (two nominations) was even brought back to capitalize on its major Oscar publicity (Best Picture and Best Actress).

That left “Crazy Heart” as the only film nominated in three or more Oscar categories not to have played here theatrically, and it finally showed up this month, as well. Several films with one or two nominations have never played and are not likely to show up in local theatres.

Two limited-release films, “Precious” and “An Education,” are both competing for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. “Precious” is also nominated for Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Editing. Interestingly both films are dramas about 16-year-old girls seeking to further their education and finding a sympathetic female teacher as mentor, albeit in extremely different circumstances. Both films also showcase knockout casts, with every single performance contributing to their power.

“An Education” is a British film based on a memoir by Lynn Barber. It’s a coming-of-age story about a middle-class teenager in a girls’ school hoping to get into Oxford, who becomes sidetracked by the chance for a sophisticated social life and romance (in that order) with an older man.

Carey Mulligan is excellent as Jenny, a bright but frustrated schoolgirl longing to experience European culture first-hand, be it fine art, classical music, jazz, or a chic nightlife. Her father, however, is of the opinion that the purpose of attending good college is to help her find a better husband and thus guarantee her a better security for the future.

She gets to know David (an appropriately enigmatic Peter Sarsgaard), a young man who gives her a ride home in the rain, and he introduces her to a world of symphony concerts, art auctions, jazz clubs, and more. Naturally she is torn between sticking with her studies to get a “boring” life as a housewife or a teacher, or to drop out and experience what she’s always dreamt of.

When her relationship with David moves to the next level and she learns more about him, she gradually discovers she’s in for a much greater education in life than she’d imagined. It eventually gets to the point where she must take firm responsibility for her own future and some unfortunate decisions.

In “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” the 16-year-old girl is an illiterate and extremely obese black girl from Harlem who is physically and especially emotionally abused by her bitter and unhappy welfare mother (Mo’Nique), and either taunted or ignored by her classmates. Clarice, who goes by her middle name Precious (Gabourey Sidibe), has a certain aptitude for math and a secret crush on her white math teacher. Precious is also pregnant for the second time by her own father, one more reason her mother vents her frustrations on her.

When her school advises her to attend an alternative school for disadvantaged students, her mother is afraid she’ll lose her welfare payments. However, Precious is determined to better herself, and soon becomes touched at the concern and dignity she’s treated with at this new classroom and her patient new teacher (Paula Patton).

Her struggle to gain a sense of self-worth sounds as if it will be just another Hollywood feel-good movie about achievement. But the film “Precious” dramatizes such a gritty and oppressive existence with such intensely believable performances, that it becomes a truly moving experience to sit through, difficult though some scenes may be to witness. The final confrontation between Precious and her mother in the office of a concerned welfare worker (an unexpectedly powerful Mariah Carey, of all people), lets loose an emotional catharsis that explains without excusing.

The pure hatred her mother expresses towards Precious, and the heartbreaking inner pain we see Precious endure, are rarely depicted on screen, yet from statistics of broken homes, domestic violence, and teenage pregnancy, we know such situations must be all too common. “Precious” is a film that presents a persuasive dramatic argument to social liberals about how devastating the government welfare system can become to people’s ambitions and overall attitude. On the other hand, it is just as persuasive an argument to social conservatives about how effective social programs can be when they’re able to reach those who truly need them.

Although they’re first-time nominees and not entrenched in the consciousness of the Hollywood establishment (like, say, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, or even Penélope Cruz or Maggie Gyllenhaal), Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique are so impressive in “Precious” that they may have a good chance of winning their Academy Awards on March 7th, even up against Streep’s endearing characterization of Julia Child. “Precious” also has a better than average chance to win for its screenplay and perhaps even a surprise “Best Picture” Oscar.

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