Word: precious
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...home, we see too many cats to count, but no evidence of that first child. Precious' mother Mary (Mo'Nique, an actress and comedian who had a role in Daniels' 2005 directorial debut, Shadowboxer), lolls about in a recliner, shouting orders and insults at her daughter when she's not smacking her around: if Precious isn't going to be in school, she'd better get herself to the welfare office and start bringing home her own check. Mary is an unabashed abuser of that system, and she's terrifying - unbelievably awful yet completely believable. Mo'Nique should prepare...
...Jones family home is an amber-lit hell, and we're not initially sure whether Precious is a prisoner or a participant in it. This isn't Bastard out of Carolina, with a cute little girl suffering while we rise up in indignation. The movie allows us moments of judging Precious - as Mrs. Lichenstein does - and then begins to roll out a series of nightmares that last the whole day long: rape, incest and a mother so lacking in human decency that she not only aided in a father's lust for a child but also considered that child...
...that's only the second or third chapter in a story whose brutal revelations come at regular intervals. A riveting scene near the end of the movie - with Mary, Precious and a social worker played by a makeup-free Mariah Carey (who should work for Daniels every chance she gets) - is as powerful as anything on film this year. (Look for other stealth casting, including Lenny Kravitz and Sherri Shepherd.) Because Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are executive producers, you might expect the sort of classic inspirational arc they both favor. But Winfrey and Perry aren't the creative forces...
...film's few weak moments are the ones that dovetail with typical inspirational stories. Precious' teacher at her new alternative school is Blu Rain (Paula Patton), and she's as dreamy as her name suggests. She's also kind and patient, except where bureaucracy is concerned; then she's feisty and political. The classroom is filled with societal castoffs, and the scenes there have an unwelcome touch of Welcome Back, Kotter. Precious seems to have an easier time trusting the situation than...
...maybe we're uncertain about whether Ms. Rain is just an extended version of Precious' frequent and vivid fantasies. Daniels shoots Sidibe onstage at the Apollo, as well as magically acting out a scene with Mary from Vittorio De Sica's Two Women and receiving a scarf as a talisman from a red-clad fairy godmother (played by former Essence magazine editor Susan L. Taylor). These sequences have a joyous Wizard of Oz energy to them, and they open the door into Precious' mind in a way even Sapphire couldn...