Precious Reviews

Not sure why all the hype; but there certainly are some interesting aspects to it. Sibide and Patton are stand outs while Mo'nique's overrated performance is so ridiculous it's comical.

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.

I feel like anyone who has suffered any kind of abuse, be it similar or not, they can relate and take so much from this film. Beautiful. Rough, but beautiful.

Inspiring.Outrageous.A cinematic film that draws a lot of attention. It's a kind of movie wherein the heart and mind collides. There's no need to listen to voices and dialogues because their expression says it all...It was all greatly delivered by a cinematic approach. Thumbs up for Sidibe for a great work!Credit goes to the novel-adaptation and more to the crews! Its definitely a brilliant artwork!

I always believe that films isn't just made to entertain people, rather to influence people. This is such a strong piece of art that takes you to a moral dilemma. Then, later on, third party comes to build the character. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.. JuSt love it!

If you watch it and your tears fall, no harm done... It's right there talking to you straight from the heart.

Kudos!;D

OK, Precious is a well made movie, and actors are also brilliant. The plot brings nothing new though. Even if the story is fiction, it is - shockingly enough - everyday life. Have to say this is a realistic filmography. I don't like the issues movie is dealing with, or memories and stuff how it influences on broken hearted viewers with similar experiences with Precious. With those described people, movie is nothing but expressing bad and sad memories of ours.

The movie does not contain enough hope, and the ending is just not happy enough. I sound like such a wussy, but this is the truth. Good acting and cinematography can't save this movie.

Precious is a very very predictable movie, at least for us people who have been there. If you have your s*it together and life has always been smiling to you, I guess this is pretty good shock value drama movie for you. But for the rest of us its an insult and opening old wounds. If you think "thank god this is only a movie", think again, because as I said, things like this happen every day - just not for you.

When it comes to own experiences, you already know the movie, so basically its just boring stuff and predictable humble-mumble, and only ONE of those lives destroyed, of those bad things and people that are in this world already too much. Gimme a break.

個人覺得電影比書好看許多，書太多奇怪翻譯，電影深刻感受珍的韌性與那份母愛。有時候家人不一定是愛你的，也可能傷害你。(嘆氣)

The initially devastating yet ultimately uplifting PRECIOUS is a solid dramatic piece with A+ performances across the board. At first, the audience may be unsure how to feel about the apparently stoic, blank expression on our title character's face, but once a few minutes have passed, they will feel more than sympathy for this victim of horribly tragic life circumstances (this is precisely the kind of movie that anyone who "thinks they have it bad" should watch as soon as possible). Similarly, we may be deceived by the film's initially dark tone and eventually discover that this is a particularly hopeful and inspirational motion picture.

Clareece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) physically goes to school and sits in the classroom, but her mind is elsewhere. She pictures herself going off on a romantic adventure with her attractive male teacher. The fact that she's severely overweight doesn't make it too easy for us to notice what the school principal figures out: Precious is pregnant with her second child. As we find out, the pregnancies haven't come as a result of Precious being sexually depraved, but because she's been raped by her own father. Life at home is hell for Precious. Her mother, Mary (Mo'Nique), isn't concerned about the fact that her daughter was raped; she's actually angry and jealous that her boyfriend preferred Precious over her: "Motherhood is about sacrifice - I should've aborted your motherfucking ass." It'd be too heart-wrenching to even start discussing the physical attacks that Mary exerts on her daughter.

Luckily for Precious, her school principal refers her to an alternative education program where she can hopefully get her GED: "I don't know what an alternative school is... but I like it", Precious says. She decides to partake in the program, which is led by the kind-hearted Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), who advises Precious to "push" herself so that she can learn to read and write. Soon, our title character starts communicating her feelings to her teacher through the journals they have to write for class. There's no doubt that there's hope for Precious to get ahead in life despite the fact that she has faced some of the roughest imaginable situations.

There's no arguing the superior quality that went into the directing and acting in this film. However, there is one aspect towards which it's easy to have mixed feelings. The film has two ways of conveying what is on our protagonist's mind. The first of these is the voiceover device, which works PERFECTLY and it's used at all the correct times. The other one is a series of scenes in which we see what Precious "wishes" were happening (like walking on the red carpet with people cheering for her). Unfortunately, this technique is overused and, even worse, it's often distracting. One of them features Precious and her mother speaking Italian to one another, and the moment just feels misplaced. Yes, this film is meant to be hopeful (as I said) but the amount of these dream sequences is excessive and too much of a distraction.

This film is a tour de force of acting. The unknown Gabourey Sidibe is relentlessly perfect: we witness the dire situation that Precious is in, and we can't wait for something to happen that makes Precious smile, and it's impossible not to smile with her when she does. If an Oscar nomination doesn't go Sidibe's way, the Academy has no shame. The most interesting thing about Mo'Nique's much-talked about performance (as what may be the most evil mother in cinema) is the fact that the true greatness of her acting doesn't come from the early, abusive scenes; it comes in the final 10 minutes, when everything that Mary has kept bottled inside for years finally comes out. In these last 10 minutes, Mo'Nique is simply staggering. She stutters and raises her voice at all the right times. We forget that she's acting. I don't mean to take away from what Sidibe accomplishes in the title role, but Mo'Nique is simply incredible. Actually, if these two ladies weren't such stand-outs, I'd even say that Paula Patton and Mariah Carey (who is virtually unrecognizable here) would deserve recognition because their performances are also pitch-perfect.

While there's no doubt that PRECIOUS is award-worthy in the acting department, I have doubts about whether it deserves anything beyond that. Now that the Best Picture category has been expanded to 10, chances are it'll get in, but when it comes down to it, as far as storytelling is concerned, PRECIOUS doesn't break new ground. Aside from the fantastic performances and the great voiceovers, this is a conventional "victimized underdog rises above the hardship" story, complete with the final moment in which the underdog is finally able to stand up to the abuser and walk away. However, it's still absolutely worth seeing for its emotional potency and message of hope.

Werkelijk fantastisch spel. Zeer heftig en intens. Iemand die wakker wordt en aan het eind eindelijk kan kiezne. Top.

Ramona Lofton nasceu em 1950 no interior da Califórnia, filha de militares que estavam sempre viajando, até que seu pai decidiu se fixar em Los Angeles e a família se desfez com o abandono por parte de sua mãe sucedido pelo alcolismo; largou o colégio, mudou-se para São Francisco onde também abandonou os estudos numa faculdade comunitária e começou a participar de movimentos de contracultura, Black Power, passou a usar drogas e escrever poesia onde assinava Sapphire.

Aos 27 anos mudou-se para Nova York com a intenção de ser escritora, prostituiu-se e entrou para comunidade lésbica “uma saída para a vida que meus pais tiveram”. Aos 33 formou-se em dança na faculdade pública do Brooklyn e aceitou emprego como assistente social e posteriormente como professora de alfabetização em áreas pobres como Bronx e Harlem, onde morava. Em 86 sua mãe faleceu e seu irmão assassinado, seguido de anos escuros que mudaram sua escrita e trouxeram a superfície lembranças dos abusos sexuais cometidos pelo pai em sua infância.

Escreveu poemas usando a perspectiva de um dos agressores, onde tentou mostrar como a ignorância e a falta de esperança pode facilmente evoluir para a violência gratuita, e durante seu mestrado na mesma faculdade do Brooklyn publicou uma coletânea e posteriormente recebeu uma enorme quantia para publicação de dois livros. “Push” foi publicado em 96 e tem por toda parte a vivência de “Safira” em mais de um personagem: na protagonista, no incesto, na escola de alfabetização, na homossexualidade de sua professora, na assistente social.

Precious é pobre, negra, obesa, analfabeta, abusada sexualmente pelo pai, com quem teve uma filha a quem chama de Mongo “de mongolóide”, ela relata para a assistente social, a criança criada pela avó tem síndrome de down, Precious está grávida novamente. A adaptação para o cinema por Lee Daniels, assim como em Shadowboxer (2005) é cru e imediato, fugindo de qualquer indulgência.

A beleza extraída de um roteiro tão trágico quanto polêmico se deve as incríveis atuações da Gabourey Sidibe e Mo’Nique (incrível ), ambas com indicações ao Oscar, Mariah Carey, como assistente social, Lenny Kravitz, enfermeiro no segundo parto de Precious. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire(2009) ainda concorre a melhor filme, edição, direção e roteiro adaptado.

Em Shadowboxer, a personagem de Mo’Nique se chamava Precious.

"Sometimes I wish I was dead. I'll be okay, I guess, 'cause I'm lookin' up. Lookin' for something to fall..."

A raw, confronting depiction of the horrors of black poverty in America, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire is drawing a distinctly mixed response. To be fair, the detractors (like the controversial Armond White, who called it "a carnival of black degradation" but proceeded to use Norbit, Meet Dave and Little Man as examples of "excellent recent films with black themes") do seem to be in the minority considering the Oscar nominations, the Sundance awards, dozens of positive reviews and the official sanction of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. But, with that said, I personally believe it's important to listen to both sides, because Precious - although powerful and well-acted - is faulted in ways that are hard to ignore, and the mixed response offers fascinating insight into the divided views of how race should be portrayed in motion pictures.

The titular character of the movie is 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones (Sidibe), whose life problems read like a laundry list of ghetto horrors: she's morbidly obese, illiterate and profoundly depressed. She's the victim of incest, too - her father has repeatedly raped her, leading to one child with another on the way. Home is no refuge: she lives with her verbally and physically abusive mother Mary (Mo'Nique), who treats her like an animal but needs her to keep the welfare cheques coming. Due to her tough upbringing, Precious constantly retreats from the world in favour of a glamorous fantasy life. When the school principal finds out about Precious' latest pregnancy, she enrols the troubled teen in a special education program for at-risk girls. When Precious is steered towards this special education program, she meets the impossibly-named Blu Rain (Patton); a teacher so unrealistically patient and empathetic that you could be forgiven for wondering if she is another one of Precious' fantasy constructs. From here on in, the narrative is in firmly clichéd territory.

What's frustrating about the film is the number of outlandish fantasy sequences that occur whenever Precious attempts to mentally block out her darkest moments. Although such scenes may work on paper, they prove distracting when converted to screen, and at times these tonal shifts are downright jarring. Additionally, there are a few scenes that feel incredibly out of place, such as a scene shared by Mary and Precious in the form of a black & white foreign movie. Director Lee Daniels also pushes the melodramatic buttons too hard. He forcibly slams home every message when a gentle tap would be sufficient. It's easy to get a reaction using such themes as incest and parental abuse, but Daniels manipulates each new development for all the tears he can jerk out of it. Another gross miscalculation is that Precious' final transformation happens without the audience, and the end feels rushed and random.

One of the most controversial aspects of the movie is the way it handles the issue of race - most prominently, that Precious has grown to resent her black skin as a signifier of her poverty and misery. In one scene of the movie, which is taken directly from the novel, Precious describes herself as "ugly black grease to be wiped away", and through her interior monologues she makes it clear that she desires a "light-skinned boyfriend with real nice hair". The extent to which she despises her skin colour is further evidenced during a scene in which she looks into her bedroom mirror, and the reflection she sees is what she wants to be: a white girl with long blonde hair. In fact, as critics have pointed out, the filmmakers appear to support Precious' misconception of the value of skin colour by portraying almost all the positive characters as light-skinned: Paula Patton as the empathetic teacher, Lenny Kravitz as a nurse who explains to Precious the benefits of a healthy diet and makes her feel pretty, and Mariah Carey as the well-meaning social worker. Even if the movie doesn't reach the levels of racism some critics have accused it of, it's hard to ignore these implications.

(SPOILERS AHEAD) Here's the unforgivable problem: while some have labelled Precious as inspirational and uplifting, it isn't. As a matter of fact, the message it delivers is that even if you work hard and struggle, it probably won't do you any good. When the movie ends, Precious has escaped her mother but is doomed to die from AIDS. Or if the AIDS doesn't kill her, the diabetes probably will. Either way, Precious is doomed. She attends school and tries to learn, but she could've remained illiterate and stupid since she's still screwed. Education without any opportunity for application is useless. Barely anything changes for Precious, and the events of the movie only worsen her life. This is not a source of inspiration. The only worthwhile message it imparts is that one should be more upbeat despite life's challenges. (SPOILERS END)

On a positive note, the performances are uniformly amazing. For the film's 110-minute runtime, Gabourey Sidibe is Precious Jones - there are no awkward moments, times when she seems forced or unnatural, or instances when she fails to convince. Mo'Nique, who earned an Oscar nomination, sheds her comic persona and disappears into the frightening, self-loathing Mary, who represents a portrait of the self-pitying monster Precious may develop into if she doesn't escape. At the same time, however, Mary is far from one-note - despite the extremity of her actions, she is at one point allowed the opportunity to explain, but never excuse, all that she has done.
As Blu Rain, Paula Patton is deeply alluring, though the character never seems to be anything but a miraculous saviour for Precious. Another compelling performance is delivered by Mariah Carey, who's virtually unrecognisable in her small but memorable role that she absolutely nails.

All criticisms aside, Precious remains a powerful, moving motion picture. It immerses its viewers into Precious' grim world, and hammers home the harshness of her existence through provocative visual associations and an unrelenting sense of dirt and darkness. As a result of some fairly big miscalculations, however, Precious fails to live up to its hype. There's undeniable humanity and emotion pervading the movie, but in the end it comes across as an unspectacular succession of vignettes in which awful people find themselves in awful situations. As a cinematic experience, it's just unpleasant and unsatisfying.

6.2/10