Precious (II) (2009)

In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Director:

Lee Daniels

Writers:

Geoffrey Fletcher (screenplay), Sapphire (novel)

Stars:

Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton

Won 2 Oscars. Another 79 wins & 49 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabourey Sidibe	...	Precious
Mo'Nique	...	Mary
Paula Patton	...	Ms. Rain
Mariah Carey	...	Ms. Weiss
Sherri Shepherd	...	Cornrows
Lenny Kravitz	...	Nurse John
Stephanie Andujar	...	Rita
Chyna Layne	...	Rhonda
Amina Robinson	...	Jermaine
Xosha Roquemore	...	Joann
Angelic Zambrana	...	Consuelo
Aunt Dot	...	Toosie
Nealla Gordon	...	Mrs. Lichtenstein
Grace Hightower	...	Socialworker
Barret Helms	...	Tom Cruise (as Barret Isaiah Mindell)

Storyline

It's Harlem 1987. Sixteen year old Claireece Jones - who goes by her middle name Precious - is an illiterate, overweight black girl. She is pregnant with her second child, both children fathered by her biological father, who has continually raped her since she was a child, but who she doesn't see otherwise. Her infant daughter, Mongo - such named since she has Down Syndrome - lives with Precious' grandmother. Precious lives with her mother Mary, who abuses Precious both physically and emotionally. Mary does nothing but smoke, watch television and collect welfare through fraud (as she doesn't ever look for a job) and believes that education does nothing for Precious, who she would rather also collect welfare if only to bring money into the household. To escape her life, Precious often daydreams of herself in glamorous situations. Because of her current pregnancy, Precious' principal transfers her into an alternative school. In dealing with the school's sympathetic teacher Miss Blu Rain...

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Plot Keywords:

school | money | new york | abuse | rain | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

ARP Sélection [fr] Lionsgate [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

20 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Precious (Base on Nol by Saf) (Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire)

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£260,921 (UK) (29 January 2010)

Gross:

$47,536,959 (USA) (5 March 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Smokewood Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Over the course of the shoot the production lost an editor, a cinematographer, three continuity people, three locations managers, two producers, two assistant directors, two sound people, two video playback people, and two caterers.

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Goofs

Several times throughout the course of the movie, you can see 2 liter bottles of Sunkist on tables. These carry the logo used between the years 2001 and 2008, while this film takes place in 1987.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Clareece 'Precious' Jones: [voiceover] My name is Clareece "Precious" Jones. I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend with real nice hair. And I wanna be on the cover of a magazine. But first I wanna be in one of them BET videos. Momma said I can't dance. Plus, she said who wants to see my big ass dancing, anyhow?

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.16 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Love Is the Message"
Written by Kenny Gamble (as Kenneth Gamble) and Leon Huff
Performed by Mfsb (as MFSB) featuring The Three Degrees
Courtesy of Philadelphia International Records And SONY Music Entertainment
By Arrangement With Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Heartbreaking and Riveting, Precious Will Win Your Heart

I saw Precious at the New York Film Festival yesterday. As you may know, Precious is the only film to ever win the Audience Award at both the Sundance and Toronto International Film Festivals. The film has been highly hyped since January and I was afraid I would be underwhelmed. Well, I sure wasn't! Precious is a powerhouse piece of cinema that will rip your heart to shreds. The acting is pitch perfect from everybody and the film-making is unusual.

Precious is about Claireece 'Precious' Jones, an overweight girl who has already had a child with Down's Syndrome from when she was raped by her father. Her mother constantly abuses her and she's already pregnant with her second baby. When she gets kicked out of school and is forced to go to an alternative school to help her get her GED, she realizes that there may actually be hope for her.

The acting is easily the most important and best thing during Precious. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe will absolutely be famous and definitely deserves the Best Actress Oscar. Her performance was so real and searing that you're just forced to sympathize with her. Other cast includes Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, and Mo'Nique who are all unfamiliar to the genre, but still perform very well. Mo'Nique gives a really great performance as the abusive mother Mary and should definitely win an Oscar as well. Mariah Carey's performance is a bit dry, but her character is not very major. Paula Patton, the actress who plays Blu Rain, Precious' teacher, gives a believable and loving performance as well. Also, the girls in Precious' class are all great. I actually was sitting behind them at the screening and got the them to sign my Playbill. They were all very excited.

The crowd seemed to love the movie. At Toronto, people laughed at serious parts, but the New York audience ate it up. People clapped for Precious, cried at the right parts, and even gasped at the screen over some of the violence. The violence is often so abrupt that it feels as if you too could have just been hit over the head with a pan. Everybody was so engaged in watching it even Gabourey Sidibe herself who had already seen it three times. Even she had trouble watching some parts. At the end of the movie, everyone in the audience stood up and gave Lee Daniels and his cast about a ten minute standing ovation. Everybody loved the film. Precious is definitely one of the best movies of the year and will definitely at least be nominated for Best Picture if not win it. It may be a bit bleak, but Precious gives me and everybody else hope. Lee Daniels wrote a quotation at the end of the movie that said "For precious girls everywhere". This is what really put the icing on the cake. Precious is a magnificent and disturbing movie.