Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Reviews and Ratings


  • waltons05
    December 6, 2009
    waltons05
    It proked me to me into pray for the mothers who allow this issue to happen with their daughters.
  • bellahona
    December 6, 2009
    bellahona
    Gosh I so want to watch this movie....Awesome....
  • mvieaddict
    December 6, 2009
    mvieaddict
    This movie was about Precious, a 16 year-old obese black girl who was living a hell, her father raped her and her mother was abusing her.She was expecting her father's second child.Due to all these she started to acts indifferent in school so they transferred her to to a special ...( read more)learning facility.The plot was very simple and showed incredibly sad scenes. Mo'Nique's performance as Mary, the dominant mother who tortured and abuse Precious was incredible amazing. Precious was a hell of girl, she never gave up and she kept going even when things got worse for her.The performances of Mariah Carey, a honest and understanding Welfare officer, and Lenny Kravitz as the hospital nurse were so amazing. The rest of the cast were all good and you never got bored, this was for me one of the best emotional movie of the year
  • purplehearts4eva
    December 6, 2009
    purplehearts4eva
    So depressing. My mom made us walk out.
  • smnthsalmon
    December 6, 2009
    smnthsalmon
    I've also heard that this movie is a good 1! I wanna c it!
  • SperoHawk
    December 5, 2009
    SperoHawk
    I am glad this film lived up to all the hype that surrounded it. The movie was both gifted with an excellent story and filled with beautiful cinematography. Gabourey Sidibe was broke my heart and then filled it back up with hope. It was also fun to see a very plain looking Mariah...( read more) Carey. Check this film out!
  • marcy51
    December 5, 2009
    marcy51
    Watch The Latest Movies Online FREE
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  • devvydev
    December 5, 2009
    devvydev
    looks like it'll be good
  • Dracula787
    December 5, 2009
    Dracula787
    Lee Daniel?s film Precious is a movie that has been heavily hyped by a number of critical forces since its debut at this year?s Sundance film festival. In spite of all the good marks the film has been getting, the prospect of actually seeing the damn thing is something I?d been d...( read more)reading all year. There were a number of elements to this movie that had me apprehensions, chief among them being the movie?s title, which seems to set the movie up has some kind of kindergarten level self-esteem exercise about how everyone is ?special? and ?precious.? Even the film?s producers seem to be embraced by that title as evidenced by the awkward way they?ve been attaching ?based on the novel ?Push? by Sapphire? to the back of it every chance they get. The bigger force in making me dread this viewing experience is the film?s trailer, which sells the movie as exactly the kind of inspirational sappiness I was afraid it would be. The fact that Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, two people who are hardly adverse to the saccharine, were attaching their names didn?t boost my confidence either. My one hope was that the last prestige movie I dreaded this much was Brokeback Mountain, which looked like pure cheese from the trailer featuring the trademark ?I can?t quit you? line, but that movie proved to be a extremely well done and expertly restrained work. Knowing how bad trailers can make certain movies look when they?re being sold to the public, I held out hope that this was just a case of problematic advertising, that this really was as good as all the buzz would have me believe. Trust me; I really wanted this to be good, but for the most part this proved to be a sad case of truth in advertising.



    The film centers on Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), who goes by her middle name and who is in a really bad situation. She?s a sixteen year old living in a squalid Harlem apartment with her mentally and physically abusive mother (Mo?Nique), who gets all her income from welfare. Claireece is illiterate, she gave birth to a mentally disabled child after being raped by her own father, and now she?s pregnant again with another of her father?s children. So what is the point of focusing on someone who is in this bad of a situation. If the not-so-subtle naming of its main character, the ?inspirational? quote the movie opens on, its tagline (Life is hard. Life is short. Life is painful. Life is rich. Life is....Precious.) and its website URL (weareallprecious.com) are any indication; the hallmark card-like goal of this movie is to prove to its audience that everyone even, if they are in dire straits, is precious. This is a message in search of an audience to convince. Does anyone really think a person is any less ?precious? simply because they suffer in life? I find it rather insulting that the filmmakers feel the need to prove this to the audience to begin with. What?s worse I don?t think the film even follows its own mantra.



    Let?s think about all the problems that the filmmakers have saddled Caireece with. It obviously isn?t Caireece?s fault that her mother is abusive, her mother is also implicated as the source of Claireece?s problems in school, and her parents are also the cause of her pregnancies either by direct action (in the case of her father) or from failing to prevent the situation (in the case of her mother). Sapphire and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher have basically constructed a character who is completely blameless for the situation she?s in, every one of her problems are without a shadow of a doubt placed squarely on the shoulders of her screwed up family. This, too me, is the root weakness of this movie. It?s very easy to generate sympathy for someone who?s had all their problems thrust upon them, its simplistic. Had they decided to create a character that was in a situation like this because they themselves made some bad decisions in life, and then established them as someone who was ?precious? it would have made for a movie that was significantly more challenging, provocative, and true to life.



    As such, I found myself significantly more interested in Claireece?s deeply flawed mother than I was in the blameless martyr for whom the film is titled. But the film isn?t really interested in exploring this mother either, or in adding many nuances to her character. She?s basically as evil as Claireece is sympathetic. This mother is pretty much everything that Ronald Reagan had in his head when he coined the term ?welfare queen.? She?s a fat, lazy woman who spends all her days watching game shows except when she occasionally leaves in order to play ?the numbers.? She constantly abuses and discourages Claireece, threatening to beat her whenever she fails to do everything she?s told and actively preventing her from furthering her education. Later in the movie she proves to be such a moustache twirling villain as to actively insult and toss a baby. But let?s hold on a second. I thought everybody was supposed to be precious. Therefore, shouldn?t that make Claireece?s mother precious too. I don?t think the content of the movie would support that, it produces a pretty simple dichotomy of the blameless child and the evil mother. In essence this is a movie that has a great deal of sympathy for people who are born into bad situations, but very little sympathy for those who have created a bad situation for themselves. This rather conservative message is a fair enough point of view, but I find the film?s endless claims of having a compassionate and non-judgmental world view to be disingenuous.



    Putting all that aside, there are other elements that make this a pretty uncompelling movie going experience, and chief among them is a character named Blu Rain, played by Paula Patton, who is meant to be a thinly disguised version of the movie?s author (get it, sapphire, Blue Rain). This character is a teacher at an alternative education facility that Claireece is sent to, and this school storyline is easily the most clichéd and sappy element of the whole movie. This whole subplot basically turns this into one of those horrible movies about saint-like inspirational teachers trying desperately to reach a diverse group of ?inner-city? youths. There is almost nothing that separates the classroom elements here from garbage like Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, and Freedom Writers. I had thought that this ridiculous trope had been shattered once and for all by Ryan Fleck?s excellent 2006 drama Half Nelson, and perhaps by the great fourth season of David Simon?s ?The Wire,? both works which have significantly more knowledge of the condition of underprivileged youths than this movie could ever dream of possessing. The ineptitude of this sub-plot is magnified by Paula Patton?s less than stellar performance which is well below the standard set by the rest of the cast. When this character says to Caireece: ?your daughter loves you, I love you? it?s every bit as TV-movie worthy as the trailer would have you believe.



    Fortunately, the rest of the acting in this movie is a lot better than the work Patton displays. In fact I?d probably say that the excellent performances of Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique are damn near the film?s only redeeming qualities. Sidibe, an unknown, is quite a find and is perfect for her role. Many have made the mistake of thinking that she was simply an underprivileged young girl that the filmmakers found on the street and essentially cast as herself in the role, but this isn?t really the case, she?s an actress playing a role and she plays it really well. Mo?Nique is even more of a revelation in her role, like Jamie Foxx before her she?s a comedian who has broken out of the ?black comedy? ghetto to prove herself to be a great and forceful actor. These are both roles that require the two thespians to inhabit very foreign roles which require a whole lot of yelling and crying, the kind of roles that are easy to give awards to, but both Sidibe and Mo?Nique do their jobs effectively and I think it is their work that has primarily tricked a multitude of critics and pundits into thinking this movie is something more than it really is.



    I wish I could say that there was another element that matched the performances of these two actresses, but there really isn?t. I suppose some of the dialogue was pretty well written, at least outside of the Blu Rain sub-plot, but otherwise I found a lot of the filmmaking here subpar. Lee Daniels? direction here seems confused and inconsistent. On one hand Daniels, whose only previous directing credit is the critically lambasted Shadowboxer, seems to want to give the movie a gritty handheld look to match the material, but he undercuts this style at all points with a variety of visual tricks and devices that are at odds with this. The movie is filled with montages, scenes where video is superimposed onto walls, obnoxious fantasy sequences that go nowhere and signify almost nothing, and the occasional Arronofsy-esque quick cut montage. It feels like Daniels is trying to use every crayon in his box of tricks to seeing what sticks rather than simply letting the story play out, and this is all the more problematic simply because a lot of these tricks aren?t even overly well executed.



    There?s one great scene towards the end, a confrontation between Claireece and her mother, in which the two actresses are finally allowed to talk in detail without being interrupted by one of Lee Daniel?s stupid tricks. It?s probably the only scene in the movie where the mother is given a shred of complexity and the film?s style really accentuates the scene rather than interrupt it. This is like an isolated scene from a much better movie and if the rest of the material here had been on par with that scene this might have been something great. Instead this is a major missed opportunity filled with sappy material, a confused message, told by a confused filmmaker that has somehow hypnotized America?s critics into ignoring its numerous flaws.
  • gyspie13
    December 5, 2009
    gyspie13
    It looks like a powerful movie.
  • jxxx84
    December 5, 2009
    jxxx84
    Recommended by SexiVixxEN
  • yameyame
    December 5, 2009
    yameyame
    wow wow wow i liek it
    Very fun
  • souljagirl1005
    December 5, 2009
    souljagirl1005
    i read the book it wuz awesome!!! i know the movie will be great too.
  • liechtensteinfilms
    December 5, 2009
    liechtensteinfilms
    When going into the theater, I didn't wear eye make-up, because I expected to really cry a lot. That was my impression from the trailer. But once into the story, I was pleased. The acting in this movie is amazing, and the story is an eye opener on how we all too often keep our ow...( read more)n selves in our so-called place. Go see it!
  • sandylifetime
    December 4, 2009
    sandylifetime
    look like a good movie -- a must see
  • rojastortu
    December 4, 2009
    rojastortu
    Man, this was more intense than I think it was going to be! I'm not going to spoil anything, just watch it (with a tissue box next to you haha)
    Well, Mo'Nique gives the performance of her lifetime and Gabourney Sidibe is amazing too. Actually the whole cast gives an amazing perfo...( read more)rmance! Also needs merit the screenplay, editing, and breakthrough directing achievement.
    This movie will get far this year!
  • cap1003
    December 4, 2009
    cap1003
    All the actors were EXCELLENT! Big surprise seeing LennyKravitz. Superb story telling.
  • sexy19694life
    December 4, 2009
    sexy19694life
    this movie is a must must see
  • sjcole4
    December 4, 2009
    sjcole4
    All the Slumdog Millionaire haters who thought the film was too optimistic and fairy tales and sweetness should have a dose of Precious. Would you rather have a film where fairy tale endings don't exist? Where the bitterness of the world is almost too much to bare? Is that "reali...( read more)stic" enough for you? Well here you go. First of all, if you hear anyone describing this film as emotionally manipulative I can tell you with 100% certainty they are completely full of crap. This film is the opposite of manipulative. It never feels like the film wants to make you cry because the story of Precious is presented with honesty and sincerity. Just because a situation is sad doesn't make it manipulative. Lee Daniels doesn't overplay the horrors of the situation, instead he focuses on making you understand them and the characters who are involved. To most the circumstances will be unfathomable, but there's no way you won't completely understand and empathize with the situation and characters afterwards.

    The film is elevated by the strongest performances by an ensemble cast of the year. Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey (a name I thought I would never mention in a sentence about good acting) give solid performances that will most likely stick with their fans. Paula Patton glows as the alternative school teacher, and Mo'Nique is absolutely staggering in this. She takes her role to places that will make you uncomfortable to watch, but you'll continue on because of the power of the performance. And while most of the attention has been put on Mo'Nique, Gabourey Sidibe is the true revelation of the year. Her performance is in no way as showy as Mo'Nique's, but even more poignant. As far as I can tell, this is an unknown
    delivering Oscar caliber acting in her first starring role...amazing.

    There's nothing that truly stands out as a negative for the film other than the scenes where Precious retreats to her imagination. These feel oddly ineffective, no matter how understandable. They don't serve the story or the film in a large enough way to justify their inclusion, although they do give the film a bit more style and give the audience a break from the oppressiveness of the story. The most fascinating thing about Precious is even when it could be considered depressing on a level rarely seen in cinema, the message of hope is the most powerful thing you'll take away from it.
  • kelly838
    December 4, 2009
    kelly838
    Watch This Movie online FREE at http://MoviesWatch.info
  • flickfever
    December 4, 2009
    flickfever
    In what is becoming the year's most talked-about film, one can't help but feel sucker-punched by the breadth and scope of this little gem. The range of emotion one goes through while watching the harrowing events that transpire on the screen is staggering. The very essence of cru...( read more)de filmmaking is displayed here as Lee Daniels (the film's director) takes us on a no-holds-barred journey through the life and times of a victim of life's most unimaginable cruelties.

    Precious Jones, our protagonist, is a 16-year old Harlem dweller who lives in an abusive home with two children of her own. Illiterate and a self-proclaimed good-for-nothing, Precious dreams of a better life. Through her terrible trials and tribulations, she manages to elude all sort of literal, physical pain through her self-imposed reassurance of a better life--through daydreaming.

    If one must go through life pushing ahead by means of lurid daydreams; then life itself (the reality of life) must be one hellish nightmare. And, for Precious, it is one. Not only must she learn to overcome her environmental limitations (barbaric parents, ignorant peers and low self-esteem), but she must learn to look for the good in herself that others are so willing to push deeper inside of her.

    Filling the immense shoes of this character is a courageous Gabourney "Gabby" Sidibe. The 26-year old first-time actress is a diametrical, polar opposite to the character she portrays. Bubbly and sprightly, the New York native is but a sharp and genuine shard of raw talent that makes you wonder, "Where did this girl come from?" She is simply an awe-inspiring sight to behold on the big screen. She delivers a performance that is exhilarating, guttural and gut-wrenching; yet subtly tender and heart-warming.

    Infamous comedienne, Mo'nique, also renders one of the most harrowing performances seen in a long while on film. Her gutsy portrayal of a ghastly mother is one for the ages. Her dark take on urban attitude is spot-on and brings great believability to a character that--portrayed by a more polished actress--may have come off a patronizing, unconvincing and--ultimately--unsubstantial and unwarranted. But the funny lady-turned-uncanny dramatic actress delivers the goods from the start and through her knot-in-the-throat, heart-breaking self-defense toward the film's end.

    he entire movie is a dramatic conflict--and the film itself serves an unapologetic commentary on life's hardships; life's triumphs; life's lessons and its rewards. It speaks to the fact that life is multi-faceted--even if it's mostly a bleak, cruel universe that must be inhabited by bleak, cruel characters.

    The implication is that black is never truly black--but a murky mix of dark hues that combine to paint a bleaker picture. But, if the bigger picture is pushed aside, one can see the brighter fragments of hope, love and redemption displayed on a canvas that had seemed shredded with the pain of the people who'd created it. There's beauty in the most obscure of places--and finding the precious bits of beauty lodged within those abysses can reap fruitful benefits for even the most down-trodden, hopeless individuals.

    Expect Precious to sweep at the Oscars next year (at least as far as nominations are concerned) and become the film on everybody's lips.
  • eh4ever2000
    December 4, 2009
    eh4ever2000
    Being quoted as "This Year's 'Slumdog Millionaire"!
  • iamuncool
    December 3, 2009
    iamuncool
    Mo'Nique is fucking scary. Mariah Carey can't act. Good film. Disturbing.
  • septeight
    December 3, 2009
    septeight
    Very strong performances from Sidibe, Mo'Nique and Carey. They truly made the story so heartbreaking and compelling. This movie smells Oscars for these actresses...
  • PrincessKiki22
    December 3, 2009
    PrincessKiki22
    I love Mo'nique in this movie. She was so convincing and just wonderful. Gaborey Sidibe, I don't know if this was her first movie or not but she did her DO....bravo. I cried with Precious. I day dreamed with Precious. I hope so much for her and I love that it starts in a story al...( read more)ready going and ends withouth ending the story. Made it more true. Lenny Kravitz was a great touch and I love the Jamicain girl (big up to all island girls). Mariah Carey....wow....if you had act in this roles just like this, instead of that Glitter movie thing, you would have been on top of that actress list. But now that I saw this major evolution in your acting, I gonna give you your props.

    This story made me think so much of my life. I loved it.

    It was said that this movie isn't realistic because how can a illiterate, poor, 16 year old raise two children on her own but the story isn't focused on her life with her children. There is so much to this story that we'll never know and that can't be captured in a movie. This movie was about liberation from her mother's prison She's no longer dumb & incapable, but strong & powerful. Her life will never get easy, every story doesn't have a happy ending, but I think that's what makes this story more realistic than so many other real-life stories
  • SexiVixxEN
    December 3, 2009
    SexiVixxEN
    5 Stars Solid!! This movie is like the little engine that could.I hope this sweeps at Oscar time cause the entire cast is Well deserving.If I had to pick only 3 movies this year to make my UBER top 3 list this would be in there.Emotional ,raw and hard to watch because of the powe...( read more)rful performance by Monique,this is gonna be one of the tops for 2009,Oh and Lenny Kravitz is super hot...still =)
  • imaniraw
    December 3, 2009
    imaniraw
    it was very sad... i cried when i first saw it
  • lilmizzindependent2
    December 3, 2009
    lilmizzindependent2
    read the book sad but kinds gross dont know if i would like to see it...
  • hopeh33
    December 3, 2009
    hopeh33
    Honestly, I did not like this movie. I just felt like I'd eaten metal. I'm tired of seeing black men portrayed as raping, noncommittal, selfish, uncaring fools and black women as overweight, powerless, uncouth, potty mouth, heathenous tramps. If this story must be told, where ...( read more)are the other fantastic ones to show as well? I AM TIRED!
  • traildiana
    December 3, 2009
    traildiana
    it maaad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • kaynetteyellowelder4
    December 3, 2009
    kaynetteyellowelder4
    it open your eye's to let you known that you cant make it even if you make a misstake
  • jdwdfw
    December 3, 2009
    jdwdfw
    ssa.gov funding molestation, rape and obesity since you can remember
  • smallhomefordisabled
    December 3, 2009
    smallhomefordisabled
    halo to you can you aidme
  • kparks1
    December 3, 2009
    kparks1
    I loved this movie. It inspired me to become a mentor to love young people.
  • rebbecca20
    December 2, 2009
    rebbecca20
    super awesome movie one of he biggest hit of all time .i have watched it alread you can watch it here http://tiny4.us/kde2ck
  • dbest45
    December 2, 2009
    dbest45
    uuh this movie was so sad...it took 4ever for it to leave my system, I walked out the theater the first time I went to see it, the second time I just couldn't view certain parts of it & cried...one thing after another in this girls life was horrendous...thank goodness someone car...( read more)ed to help...its too sad for me
  • ElDuderinoLebowski
    December 2, 2009
    ElDuderinoLebowski
    Well acted, decently directed film will be too implausible for realists. As someone who has actually researched this issue, and knows about the true, permanent effects of such a tough upbringing, the film's overly redemptive nature truly got on my nerves. Yes, the scene inside th...( read more)e apartment are tough, but aside from 2 or 3 instances of crying, you barely saw any of the actual social defects which result from real life abuse. The film also doesn't take much time to point out the troubles of raising 2 kids, including one with a learning disability, when you're only 16 years old.

    There are times when you can say "well it's a movie", but with topics as real and truly devastating as sexual abuse, domestic violence, and HIV, sometimes it's better to portray what's possible (and highly likely), even if it leaves the audience and studio unsatisfied. Since when should you portray a topic like sexual abuse while still worrying about how pleased the general public or studio is?

    If you want a well made film, go see it, but if you want a realistic film, stay away.
  • esti15
    December 2, 2009
    esti15
    Watch This Movie Online FREE
    http://MoviesWatch.info
  • mellopez28
    December 2, 2009
    mellopez28
    this movie is really good. although if you are very sensitive, i would be careful when watching. what happens to this poor girl is very disturbing and may stick with you for some time.
  • geminiblack
    December 2, 2009
    geminiblack
    I thought the movie was very thought provoking. I hope it facilitates honest coversation about the subject matter.
  • theyCallmeCoffee
    December 2, 2009
    theyCallmeCoffee
    I haven't seen this but it looks so depressing, yet I want to see it.
  • slampoehtik
    December 2, 2009
    slampoehtik
    Incredibly moving! Gaborey Sidibe shines!
  • dizzynorman
    December 1, 2009
    dizzynorman
    The acting and direction are top notch (Mo'Nique especially deserves major Oscar props). At times it felt a little melodramatic, but over all it was a believable tough sell that managed to keep some hope laced across the proceedings.
  • rocketred89
    December 1, 2009
    rocketred89
    Another movie i didn't think i'd like... but i did.

    I like it.
  • fineboi
    December 1, 2009
    fineboi
    This Movie Was Extremly Good It Touched me in so manu ways/ Gabourey Sidibe, Monique Paula did a excellent job! I didnt even really regonize Lenny KravitZ ;)
    This movie will move you and almost make you shed a tear.
    So good. GREAAT JOB!
  • angelsinheaven
    December 1, 2009
    angelsinheaven
    The movie packs in punch after punch for its audience. There's no artistry, no holding back - the ugliness is just unleashed on screen for everyone to gasp at. The director toes the line of making the film an overkill of a neverending series of sufferings for Precious. Between th...( read more)e discomfort of the visual and verbal depictions of abuse, and the much needed contrast brought upon by the the lightness of the classroom scenes, the film is really all about provoking emotions.
    There was a sense of incompleteness, however, brought on by a sense that none of the characters were sufficiently dealt with in depth. However, what lacks in the writing was certainly compensated to a large extent by the performance. Amazing collection of cast. From the very intense newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe, to the powerful portrayal of loathsomeness by Mo'Nique, to the sweetness of Paula Patton, and a very restrained performance by Mariah Carey, and not to mention the small appearances of the all the "girls" in the classroom, who give much needed comic relief in the movie.

Summary

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Summary