The movie Precious was based on the novel Push by Sapphire
There was a lot of hype surrounding this movie considering all of the awards it’s been nominated for. The critics raved about the performances of Monique and Gabourey Sidibe. Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey both were executive producers...Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey made appearances...talk about some good all around support for the movie.
All I thought before watching the film with my opinions based only on the previews, was how difficult it was going to be to sit through it. It’s not because I thought the movie would be bad but because of the treatment I saw the character Precious receive during the previews gave me the perception it would be an emotional ride of a movie...
I’m not trying to give it away but Precious’s mom (played by Monique) was as brutal as you’d see in the previews if not worse. All throughout the movie, she belittled her in every way possible by calling her names, stupid, ugly, throwing glass bottles at her head if she looked at her mom wrong…you name it and her mother did it to her. Self-esteem…she had none…confidence…she had none…ability to fend for herself?...well, she was tough but not against her mother. She definitely was a dreamer but at any time when she was to attempt something positive or constructive with herself, her mother breaks her down mentally and emotionally so bad that she basically crawls back into her ‘hole’ so to speak.
This film tells a story of a high school aged girl named Precious living in the projects of New York in the late 1980s being raised by a single mom on welfare. The mother was lazy, disgusting, and just turned her daughter into her own personal servant in a way. Precious already has a child with Down syndrome and finds out in the beginning she is pregnant again…by her own father. When her school finds out about her pregnancy, they send her to a specialized school that trains kids in her situation to be able to take and pass the GED test. This is where Precious learns how to communicate her thoughts and feelings. The more she spoke, the better she felt which ultimately led her to want to learn and communicate even more. The increased education, support from her teacher and classmates, and the new birth of her baby boy definitely empowered Precious and gave her the confidence she was yearning for to believe there is more to life than the black hole that her mother has kept her in. I will say this…a big turning point after the birth of her son occurs that is probably one of the most difficult scenes to watch.
Watching Precious grow mentally and fight through her battles with her mother seemed like a modern day Rocky or underdog type of story. Will she overcome adversity or succumb to all the negativity and pain that seems to want to suck her in like quicksand?
Precious was a great film with a lot of intensity and emotional lows. I recommend it but wouldn’t recommend watching it more than once. The rating might be lower than you'd think but all the hype gave me higher expectations I suppose...
Sponge Rating: 7/10 sponges
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