Precious

[Bourne101]

Directed by Lee Daniels

Written by Geoffrey Fletcher

Genre: Drama

Plot Outline: Clareece "Precious" Jones is an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem. Just as she's about to give birth to her second child, Jones is accepted into an alternative school where a teacher helps her find a new path in her life.

Starring: Mo'Nique , Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Gabourey Sidibe, Sherri Shepherd

Rated R for child abuse including sexual assault, and pervasive language.

Runtime: 110 minutes

Doesn't look THAT good to me based on the trailers, but the great reviews are making it become one of my most anticipated films for the remainder of the year.

[Badbird]

I had to read the book a few years ago when I was in college. It was good, but very sad and disturbing. I don't know how faithful the movie will be to the book (it was very graphic in regards to her sexual abuse), but it certainly won't be a real crowd-pleaser.

[ericdraven]

It has Tyler Perry and Oprah behind it, so it will probably do 30 million opening, and I am not really intrested in it.

[Bourne101]

It's in limited release so a $30 million opening is not likely.

On a side note, Oprah and Perry bought the rights to the film after the film was already complete and had screened at film festivals, so their involvement should have no impact on the quality of the film.

[Mr.HyDe807]

I caught this trailer when I saw A Serious Man. I don't know, I'm just not feeling this movie.

[Tyler Durden4]

Am I the only one that thinks this looks great?

[legato]

Didn't Waters kill off this sort of thing back in the 80s?

[Frank the Tank]

The trailers for it look really sappy and like pure oscar bait. But, the reviews make it sound tremendous so I'll wait for it on video.

[drc5145]

I've heard a lot of great things about it so I'm definitely looking forward to it. The fact that Mo'Nique's performce is being thrown around as a Major oscar contender is interesting enough.

[franky4fingerz]

I really want to see this film. With that said I'm white and no/zero offense to anyone who is African American, but the majority of African American films are not very good. Tyler Perrys movies (I've seen them all) are basically the same message every time, and the black comedies are for the most part are very lame (friday kicked ass though). A film with an all African American cast that has Oscar buzz is just what we need. I thought Hustle & Flow was the second best movie of 2005 (only behind Munich). It was insanely over-looked. I'd love for this movie to do well at the boxoffice and get some awards. I dont know when it will get here in Atlanta, but I'll be there opening night when it does.

[ericdraven]

Originally Posted by Bourne101

It's in limited release so a $30 million opening is not likely.

On a side note, Oprah and Perry bought the rights to the film after the film was already complete and had screened at film festivals, so their involvement should have no impact on the quality of the film.

How do you know that they won't expand it if the film does good in limited release. I mean it happend with Juno. This could possibly pull a Juno.

[franky4fingerz]

a hard-rated R depressing Drama could never pull a "juno".

[Tyler Durden4]

It's coming to my neck of the woods November 20th. I doubt this will pull a "Juno". I think it'll make its money back and reach it's audience but it's not going to be a huge hit

[Bourne101]

Originally Posted by ericdraven

How do you know that they won't expand it if the film does good in limited release. I mean it happend with Juno. This could possibly pull a Juno.

You said it would have a $30 million opening. That either means it will open to $30 million the weekend it actually opens (which it didn't) or it will make $30 million on the weekend it expands wide (which it won't, Juno's highest weekend gross was $15 million). I never said that it would not expand or that it wouldn't do well in limited release. I actually would be surprised if it doesn't become a hit.

[Dutchman]

Saw this last night. It's OK. Not stellar. Not bad either, though. It seems to me that most people are on polar opposite sides on this. Some think it's the best film of the year, or if not that, a biting, effective drama. Some think it's a thin, pretentious melodrama constructed for suburban white people to massage their guilt. It's neither. Wholly, anyway.

Lee Daniels is a pretty bad director, and most of the film's problems stem from his hand. His pretensions are boldly obvious painted over what is otherwise a collected and practical movie. If it had been that movie on its own, naked and pure, with everything else just the same, it would have been a great film, because the lead performances are truly fantastic. Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique will get Academy Award nominations, and they will be well deserved. They elevate the film above Daniels' chintzy showboating. Had actresses unable to deliver been cast instead, this could have been totally pathetic, but it works, not to maximum efficiency, but it does work.

This is the kind of movie that anyone can walk in, the hype train having been rammed into their eyes and ears for months, Lee Daniels being as bad as he is, and seeing Oprah and Tyler Perry's names on it, and intently decide that they will not fall for it. And there's a part of me that is totally like that. In the back of my mind yelling loudly: THIS FILM IS EMOTIONALLY MANIPULATIVE, MANUFACTURED, AND FAKE!! But it's not bad. Hm.

I'd give it, ***/*****

[Tyler Durden4]

Wow. Opened in 18 theaters this weekend, and made 1.8 million. Average of 100,000$ per theater. Maybe this will be a hit.

[ericdraven]

Originally Posted by Tyler Durden4

Wow. Opened in 18 theaters this weekend, and made 1.8 million. Average of 100,000$ per theater. Maybe this will be a hit.

Yeah, the numbers don't lie.

[FilmKing2000]

What a powerful experience this was! I went into Precious not really knowing what to expect and walked out stunned, riveted, inspired, emotionally drained, and yes, even on the verge of tears. This is a film of devastating power - an unmercifully honest character study that surrenders us to its unflinching, genuinely pure humanity in the most brutal and yet completely rewarding ways imaginable. From the monumentally sublime realization of its protagonist and the characters and environment that surrounds her to the hard-edged, straightforward, no-bars-held realism it utilizes and depicts, there's no manipulation of emotions here; this film is the real deal - raw, visceral, and relentless. Needless to say, the praise surrounding Precious is completely justified. The film is beautifully directed with utmost confidence by Lee Daniels, the adapted screenplay is gloriously in-depth with its setting and characters, and the ensemble cast - oh, what an ensemble! - provides, no lie, some of the most bravura work I've seen this decade. And while Mo'Nique may be at the center of the (completely deserved) Oscar-buzz acting-wise, it's Gabourey Sidibe who I with every fiber in me feel should deserve as many accolades as possible. With corresponding amounts of subtlety and visceral humanity, Sidibe gives what may as well be the most harrowing, heart-wrenching performance I have seen since Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream. But all in all, this is a film I just can't give enough praise for. And while I still have high hopes for a great number of films within the coming months (Nine, Up in the Air, The Road, Avatar, etc.), Precious has certainly set the bar ferociously high.

9/10.

[visual_tension]

There are some fantastic performances here. One scene almost made me tear up.

8/10

[hulk2009]

I saw this film in the TIFF, this movie doesn't llok all that good, has some moments but nothing to really make u see it a second time.

it might do better than expected but not really a gaint hit.

[legato]

Sadly, it's already a megahit man.

[BakeTheMooCow]

Some of the directorial choices here are so awful. When Precious is being raped by her father, there are quick cuts to eggs and meat frying in a pan. When Precious is flipping through a photo album after suffering verbal and physical abuse from her mother, the pictures become animated and people speak to her through the photographs. In other instances of abuse, the director will cut to a fantasy sequence that Precious is having or put up photographs of her childhood. We get that this is how she escapes and survives, but it is such overkill.

The wobbly handheld method that the director employs otherwise is meant to be gritty and realistic and it often is. But when you cut away at the most intense and difficult moments, it takes away from the experience and the movie becomes oddly cold.

The other major issue is the exploitative nature of the script. There is an actual young girl who has Down's Syndrome who plays Precious' daughter named 'Mongo' short for mongoloid. When Precious' mother is screaming abuse at her and calling the child retarded and stupid, it's the kind of moment where I just am taken out of the universe the movie exists in and I think -- well, of course that will get a reaction from me and from the audience. How obvious and transparent and manipulative.

The performances are quite exceptional, starting with Gabby Sidibe who is a complete natural and has a laugh that is beautiful and infectious in the rare moments we get to see it. But Mo'Nique is the true star and her turn as the horrible monster of a mother is breathtaking and brave. I expected there to be an explanation for her evil, repusive personality and I dreaded it hoping that the film wouldn't be dumb enough to make us feel sorry with her. However, it is handled in such an unexpected way by having her final monologue reveal a broken and mentally unstable woman who is not in fact worthy of our sympathy.

6/10

[Katsumoto]

Originally Posted by BakeTheMooCow

Some of the directorial choices here are so awful. When Precious is being raped by her father, there are quick cuts to eggs and meat frying in a pan. When Precious is flipping through a photo album after suffering verbal and physical abuse from her mother, the pictures become animated and people speak to her through the photographs. In other instances of abuse, the director will cut to a fantasy sequence that Precious is having or put up photographs of her childhood. We get that this is how she escapes and survives, but it is such overkill.

The wobbly handheld method that the director employs otherwise is meant to be gritty and realistic and it often is. But when you cut away at the most intense and difficult moments, it takes away from the experience and the movie becomes oddly cold.

The other major issue is the exploitative nature of the script. There is an actual young girl who has Down's Syndrome who plays Precious' daughter named 'Mongo' short for mongoloid. When Precious' mother is screaming abuse at her and calling the child retarded and stupid, it's the kind of moment where I just am taken out of the universe the movie exists in and I think -- well, of course that will get a reaction from me and from the audience. How obvious and transparent and manipulative.

The performances are quite exceptional, starting with Gabby Sidibe who is a complete natural and has a laugh that is beautiful and infectious in the rare moments we get to see it. But Mo'Nique is the true star and her turn as the horrible monster of a mother is breathtaking and brave. I expected there to be an explanation for her evil, repusive personality and I dreaded it hoping that the film wouldn't be dumb enough to make us feel sorry with her. However, it is handled in such an unexpected way by having her final monologue reveal a broken and mentally unstable woman who is not in fact worthy of our sympathy.

6/10

I pretty much agree with everything you said here!! Don't get me wrong the performances are all pretty god damn fantastic, but Lee Daniels nearly kills this film with his directing decisions. It will be extremely frustrating watching him gain director awards come this award season.

[visual_tension]

Originally Posted by BakeTheMooCow

Some of the directorial choices here are so awful. When Precious is being raped by her father, there are quick cuts to eggs and meat frying in a pan. When Precious is flipping through a photo album after suffering verbal and physical abuse from her mother, the pictures become animated and people speak to her through the photographs. In other instances of abuse, the director will cut to a fantasy sequence that Precious is having or put up photographs of her childhood. We get that this is how she escapes and survives, but it is such overkill.

The wobbly handheld method that the director employs otherwise is meant to be gritty and realistic and it often is. But when you cut away at the most intense and difficult moments, it takes away from the experience and the movie becomes oddly cold.

Agreed. I think that was the only big problem I had with the film.