Sunday, January 25, 2009

Could PUSH be the next Slumdog?

SUNDANCE, the biggest film festival of the year, gave it's top drama award to PUSH, a Lee Daniel's produced tale about an abused teenager. The film also won the Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for Acting for Mo'Nique's dramatic turn as an abusive mother. Lee Daniels is best known for being the only African-American to solely produce an Oscar winning film - Monster's Ball. Also known for taking risky casting moves, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd, and Robin Thicke's wife Paula Patton co-star.


PUSH Description from Sundance website:
With sheer audacity and utter authenticity, director Lee Daniels tackles Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire and creates an unforgettable film that sets a new standard for cinema of its kind. Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a high-school girl with nothing working in her favor. She is pregnant with her father’s child—for the second time. She can’t read or write, and her schoolmates tease her for being fat. Her home life is a horror, ruled by a mother (Mo’Nique) who keeps her imprisoned both emotionally and physically. Precious’s instincts tell her one thing: if she’s ever going to break from the chains of ignorance, she will have to dig deeply into her own resources.Don’t be misled—Push is not a film wallowing in the stillness of depression; instead, it vibrates with the kind of energy derived only from anger and hope. The entire cast are amazing; they carry out a firestorm of raw emotion. Daniels has drawn from them inimitable performances that will rivet you to your seat and leave you too shocked to breathe. If you passed Precious on the street, you probably wouldn’t notice her. But when her story is revealed, as Daniels does in this courageous film, you are left with an indelible image of a young woman who—with creativity, humor, and ferocity—finds the strength to turn her life around.

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