Thoughts on PRECIOUS?

[Popular]

Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#1

Posted: 11/6/09 at 9:53pm

I really want to see this movie but I promised a friend I'd wait until the end of the month to see it with her.

Just wanted to start a thread to hear some reviews about it. Mostly curious to hear if it shows social workers in a better light than the media has been lately.

[pushdabutton]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#2

Posted: 11/7/09 at 12:05am

I can't wait to see this movie. Unfortunately it's not out in my area until November 20.

[blaxx]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#2

Posted: 11/7/09 at 12:06am

It's at 77 on Metacritic. Not bad.

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/precious

Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE

[AC126748]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#3

Posted: 11/7/09 at 12:12am

Just returned from a screening. It's a fabulously acted film. Some of the best performances you'll see all year. The film itself is a bit static in places, but overall completely worth seeing. Mo'Nique does live up to her hype.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

[degrassifan]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#4

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:22am

It looks good! I really want to see it.

[StockardFan]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#5

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:25am

I have no desire to see it. I don't get what it's even supposed to be about.

KFTC!!!!!

[ljay889]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#6

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:26am

I think it looks amazing. I need to see it.

Mo'Nique is getting Oscar buzz.

[Jane2]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#7

Posted: 11/7/09 at 11:52am

I did have a little interest in seeing it, but the more Oprah gushes over it, the less I want to go.

<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES

[JerseyGirl2]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#8

Posted: 11/7/09 at 11:57am

Jane, I agree totally. All the hype just makes me want to wait until dvd.

Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less than f**ckin' perfect!

[iflitifloat]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#9

Posted: 11/7/09 at 12:22pm

I haven't read much of the buzz, but an early piece (on NPR?) focusing mainly on the actress who plays Precious made me want to run right out and see it as soon as possible. She's not trained in acting and was approached largely because of her physical appearance. That made me queasy at first, until I realized that apparently this woman took the role and ran with it.

Sueleen Gay: "Here you go, Bitch, now go make some fukcing lemonade." 10/28/10

[Popular]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#10

Posted: 11/7/09 at 12:40pm

I'm impressed with the lead girl as well. Here is a video clip I saw about how/why she got hired. The director looked everywhere but realized that if he cast some of the girls he found working at McDonalds, etc... that he would be exploiting them because a lot of them WERE Precious. Then comes this girl with all her confidence. Amazing!
Interview

[JerseyGirl2]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#11

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:21pm

Now after that interview, I want to see it again.

Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less than f**ckin' perfect!

[Jordan Catalano]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#12

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:28pm

I just got back from seeing the film. It's going to take me some time to really process it but I can say that it was remarkable, in every sense of the word. Mo'Nique does in fact live up to every bit of hype she's received. She's even more evil than I had imagined and perhaps one of the scariest people ever put on film. However with that said, in the end I couldn't help but in a small way feel bad for her in the same way I felt sympathy for the character of Mister in "The Color Purple" which really made me wonder if this woman and her actions weren't products of her environment, in the same way his were to a degree.

But with all that's being said about her, we can't forget about Gabourey Sidibe who plays the title role and gives an astonishingly brave performance to the film. I certainly hope come awards season she's not overlooked and gets the recognition she deserves.

I feel as though I could write a 20 page essay on this but I just can't get my thoughts together cohesively enough for that yet. I need to let this sink in a bit more.

[Popular]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#13

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:37pm

Jordan - I think you got exactly what the film was going for. Mo'Nique is playing a mentally ill person and I think you ARE supposed to feel some sympathy for her illness and environment (that I'm assuming doesn't help!)

My friend and I decided we can't wait that long! I'm so going to see this today if I can. As an MSW student doing her internship at DCFS I am just too curious to wait!
Updated On: 11/7/09 at 01:37 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#14

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:39pm

I didn't cry during the movie at all but just on the phone telling my Mother that she needs to see it, I started to describing it to her. It REALLY is like a punch in the gut and should be seen by all. Re reading that other idiots review where he claims it's racist now just really upsets me.

[Jane2]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#15

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:46pm

I'll probably wait and see a screener of it in Dec.

<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES

[ljay889]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#16

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:55pm

Jordan, how was Mariah Carey? She is even surprisingly getting positive reviews.
Updated On: 11/7/09 at 01:55 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#17

Posted: 11/7/09 at 1:59pm

Carey is only in I think 2 scenes but she's excellent. In the few movies she's done, only GLITTER was bad. Her followup film WISEGIRLS was a really good movie and showed she had real talent as an actress, which she displays here.

[justagirl2]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#18

Posted: 11/7/09 at 2:22pm

Oh, I'm so glad to hear that you all liked it. I've been following this film for a while now after having read the book. That alone tore me apart, so I imagine seeing it visualized will be even more painful.

Gabby's interviews are incredible. She's so confident and warm and just draws you in.

[spiderdj82]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#19

Posted: 11/7/09 at 3:49pm

Wow. I started tearing up just watching her audition piece.

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

[StockardFan]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#20

Posted: 11/7/09 at 4:05pm

OK, what is this movie about? I've heard very little about it.

KFTC!!!!!

[I<3bway]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#21

Posted: 11/7/09 at 4:33pm

How long is Lenny Kravitz in the movie? Is he any good?

[justagirl2]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#22

Posted: 11/7/09 at 4:34pm

Stock, it's based on the novel Push by Sapphire. It's about a poor 16 year-old from Harlem who has been raped (and impregnated twice) by her father, mentally and physically abused by her mother, and is illiterate. It's a bit of a coming-of-age, finding-yourself type of story. It's a downer, but incredible. The movie looks like it does the book justice.

[StockardFan]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#23

Posted: 11/7/09 at 4:52pm

That does sound depressing.

KFTC!!!!!

[Popular]

re: Thoughts on PRECIOUS?#24

Posted: 11/7/09 at 5:51pm

Ok, still processing thoughts as well...

Definitely a heavy movie but there were some unexpected laughs as well which were well needed. I was very disappointed in Mariah's role because it felt so incomplete to me. I understand the movie isn't necessarily about her character, but I still would've liked to have seen a more well rounded reflection of a social worker on screen. To me she came off very weak and inadequate in her job, and I was hoping to see her role in Precious' life be more of what the teacher was to her. Maybe that's just my bias though. The story itself, however, is very true to the cases we deal with. I thought the movie did a great job of putting a human face to some tough issues. Definite nomination coming to Mo'Nique! Perhaps even to Gabby. Both courageous and powerful.