I can’t really say that I enjoyed watching Precious. To do so would make me categorically misogynistic. Precious ( Based On The Book ‘Push’ by Sapphire) is a brutally punishing look into the life of an economically depressed 16 year old living in a ghetto with her insidiously evil mother. It is jarring, unflinching, and depressing. That is not to say that it is not a good movie, but don’t go expecting a joyful denouement to the story arc. Things are not wrapped up in a typical tidy Hollywood bow.
Precious is played by outstanding newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. She is an obese, dark-skinned, illiterate 16 year old pregnant with her second child. Her first child is mentally handicapped (Precious lovingly refers to her as Monglo) and is kept from Precious at a grandmother’s house. The only time Precious gets to see her child is when it is time for a social worker to visit the home.
The child is brought into the home so that the social worker will believe she lives there. This ensures that Mary, the mother of Precious, (played by Mo’Nique) gets her welfare check. As soon as the visits are concluded, Mary drops the toddler like unwanted garbage.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the two pregnancies are the product of her very own father, and his repeated raping of Precious. Mary resents the “attention” that her mate has given Precious, and acts out her hatred toward the girl every single day. Her seriously warped logic concludes that Precious brought the rape(s) upon herself, and caused her father to abandon the twisted family.
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