A very good movie

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I heard mostly positive things about it, I was really eager to check it out. Basically, it is a really bleak and heartbreaking drama with a rather standard plotline. What makes it stand out from the other movies from this genre is the interesting directing and the amazing acting. Like I said before, it was quite heartbreaking and it deals with a main character with the most depressing life you could imagine (she is 16 years old, black, fat, fairly unattractive, almost illiterate, mother of 2 children after being continuously raped by her father and at the end, she finds out she is HIV positive). Many people say it is an inspirational movie but I’m not so sure. In my opinion, it is much like a wake up call and a huge slap in your face. If you expect to see something supposedly inspiring like ‘Dead Poets Society’, you will be terribly disappointed. The only thing you will find are some people in total despair and a handful of other people trying to help them but the odds for any happy ending are very small but they all keep on going no matter what. So, the directing had a very interesting approach and it was much appreciated. But, above all, it is probably the acting which made this movie so strong with not one but 3 amazing female performances. Let’s start with Mariah Carey. Yeah, the same woman who seems to be a really obnoxious diva in real life, the same woman who allegedly gave one of the worst performances in ‘Glitter’ (I haven’t seen it though), was just terrific in this. I mean, the way she looked, she was just almost unrecognizable and her performance was really convincing. Then, you had Mo’Nique who completely deserved her Oscar. She portrays a woman who spent a terrible life, basically despises herself and she makes a daughter pay for all the mistakes she has made. It is a performance full of fury, anger, frustration and despair, it was just quite mind-blowing to behold. Then, finally, you had Gabourey Sidibe who really carried the whole thing. I made a rather unappealing portrait of the main character but this young woman still managed to make her charismatic without making her suddenly wiser than she was supposed to be. It was just spellbinding to watch her and when you think that it was her acting debut, it is even more impressive. I could mention Paula Patton who a did a decent job but she didn’t make a huge splash like these other 3 women. To conclude, even though we have seen this story many times before, I thought it was this time brilliantly told with some tremendous acting and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

8/10