REVIEW: Pointless ‘Precious’ Should Have Been Titled ‘Better Off Dead’
by John NolteA few solid performances are not enough to overcome a story that can only be described as porn for people who confuse wallowing in depravity with some kind of important existential statement about life, or worse, art. There’s no point to “Precious.” There might have been, but then from out of nowhere this brutally unsentimental drama serves up one last turning point (I won’t reveal), one final slap in the face of an audience who dared believe an emotional investment into a horribly abused, illiterate, obese teenage girl might actually pay off with something meaningful.
What do you expect from a story where a baby with Down’s Syndrome is named Mongo?
Though sixteen years of age, Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is still in middle school but not for long. After it’s discovered she’s pregnant for the second time after being raped by the same father who impregnated her the first time, school policy demands she drop out. Thankfully Dad’s no longer in the picture, but there’s still Mom (Mo’Nique) to deal with, a vicious woman willing to do anything to keep her daughter from realizing any amount of happiness, much less her hopes and dreams.
Unfortunately, Precious’ hopes and dreams are as stunted as her reading scores. In-between bouts of suffering, she fantasizes about being worshipped as a celebrity. I’m not sure the film realizes just how shallow and sad this dream is, but I digress. A ray of light arrives in the form of an invitation to an alternative school for young women of similar circumstance. From here Precious finds a kind of salvation in that which only Hollywood believes there’s salvation: Gay school teachers, social workers, public education and pretty much everything else on the Big Daddy Government check-off list.
Other than life in 1980’s Harlem being awful for a black girl ironically named Precious, there’s nothing to see here other than explicit scenes of a father raping his daughter, and the physical, mental, verbal and sexual abuse heaped on this same girl (and the audience) by her welfare-addicted mother in scene after unrelenting scene.
“Requiem for a Dream” is hard to watch, but at least there’s a point (and Keith David); it’s a cautionary tale. “21 Grams” is hard to watch, but at least there’s a theme: forgiveness. Sure, Precious tries to break free of her abuse, and with the help of her teacher (Paula Patton) and social worker (an unrecognizable but superb Mariah Carey), she’s on the right track until that one last piano’s dropped on her head.
The hostility this character’s creators hold for her permeates every frame, and when she steals a full bucket of fried chicken, eats the whole thing on her way to school and then spends a few minutes walking around with grease and chicken bits all over her face you have to wonder why they didn’t name the movie “Better Off Dead.”
There are moments of genuine power. Mo’Nique’s last scene is a true piece of bravura acting, the setting of time and place in great detail – down to the gross-out hairs on a plate of pigs feet – is spot on, and the soundtrack is one of the best you’ll hear all year. And while there are many movies that fall under the category of difficult to watch, where you say, ”Well, it was worth seeing once,” that’s simply not true for this one. “Precious” gives you nothing to take home with you … other than images best left forgotten.
Directed by Lee Daniels and presented (for some reason) by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, the talent behind “Precious”is not in question. Just the point of making it.
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166 Comments
Well, it was a very well regarded and commercially successful book.
The Oprah/Tyler Perry connection is hard to explain, considering a Denver area couple put up the shooting budget.
Sounds absolutely, positively, mind numbingly, bone chilling (Ly) shitty,depressing, and worst of all, Liberal.
<<you have to wonder why they didn’t name the movie “Better Off Dead.”>>
Cause then they would be forced to charge only TWO DOLLARS to see it.
Oh no! From the ads that I have paid little attention to, I was under the impression that this was a standard feel-good story. How many people are going to be surprised by this?
Looks nauseating. Times like this I pity movie critics.
other than a slice of life- and not a pretty one at that- this film exists only to produce negative emotions…
And it is for that fact that it is excoriated by both sides of the political spectrum. Racist, or condescension, or both?
Our take: Pass on this…
<<you have to wonder why they didn’t name the movie “Better Off Dead.”>>
Top 3 reasons why they did not use that title:
-Precious learned to speak English by watching Rudy Ray Moore rather than Howard Cosell
-Aardvark coats are illegal in NYC
-Scene where Precious got her arm stuck in the microwave and Mo'nique had to take her to the hospital after dropping acid, freaking out, and hijacking a busload of penguins deemed "too expensive" by the studio
This is the type of people chronic welfare breeds. And does it consistently. We keep paying for crap, we get crap. I say leave this film strictly alone and let it die a proper death. Next, kill off welfare.
How much you bet this wins the Oscar too.
Respectfully disagree … the theme here is the triumph of the human spirit against unbelievable odds. Precious has every right to phone life in, to essentially call it a day. But she strives to better herself and become a responsible parent.
This movie is so ugly and disturbing because it captures the welfare mentality.
Her teacher asks her what she's going to do. Precious responds, "get on welfare. that's what my mother did." Teacher, "And how did that work out?"
The film is also Pro-Life.
that's why the book and original movie title was called "Push" because she had to push herself.
and let us not forget, there was no perfectly good white boy to throw away.
Pro existence, what kind of life is this?
Pro life? What?
They deserve it!
If it is anything like the shiteous book, then count me out. It was not exactly a "feel good" read. Plus, I never cared about any of the people in the book. Zero investment.
absolutely agree 100%……….if we need to validate the crimes of black-on-black level of violence here in the USA…need look no further than the Southside of Chicago, East LA, Harlem, or New Orleans…….they all represent the most dispicable elements of life………scum……rubbage…….trash…………….and yes….uneducated gansters looking for a quick kill……..god bless
Plus it's not particularly funny when Precious complains that her father put his testicles all over her.
I guess her dad only speaks the "internationale languige"
It is a feel good story…for the leftist social vampires who are nourished by schadenfreude, courtesy of those the pretend to care about.
i want my two dollars.
Haven't seen it yet, but from your description, I'll give it this: It's realistic.
There are plenty of stories out there exactly like this one, and not many of them end happily either. Should this movie? I don't know, maybe not.
Thanks for this review JN. I felt emotionally traumatized just watching the trailer, I can't imagine sitting through the whole thing and having no uplifting pay off.
just go that way, really fast… if something gets in your way, turn…
Hud Housing is notoriously segregated. The one I audited was all Black People. Welfare roles according to the government are 40% white 40% black and 20% other races. Amazing how inegration is not something the libs in governemt care about when it comes to the poor. One of the largest expenses for the HUD projects I audited was legal expenses. Why? Well drug dealers liked to live there because it was a prime place to do business. The cops would bust them and despite the conviction the process of evicting them took at least a year. They'd go to the ACLU and find they had "rights". One of the biggest complaints of the majority of women who lived in that project was that these guys were allowed to stay there corrupting their kids. They could not understand why they could not be thrown out. Are these women as uncaring" as movies like Precious make them out to be? If so why did they complain about the drug dealers. I was told this was the common complaint of everyone there to the landlord.
by virtue of not having an abortion like her teacher suggested or even giving them up for adoption. Precious said "she could kill them even for saying that."
Most people would've given up after that last piano but she still dedicates her life to raising both of her children and living for them.
It may depict the welfare mentality in Precious' mother, but it is hardly shown as a worthy one–the slovenly woman lives in a wretched apartment that she apparently never leaves. No sane person would want that life, and neither does Precious.
Only those who never read ANY reviews or press. Every single piece written about this movie has stressed how harrowing it is–and they're not exaggerating.
Hah! It's not like critics are tied to the chair, Clockwork Orange style!
Umm . . . Precious was 16, no job, couldn't read with a newborn and she did leave. Watch the movie.
I was referring to the mother, who was the lifelong welfare recipient and was urging Precious to go on welfare as well. But you're right–I stand corrected–mom did leave the apartment for one scene.
It's already a hit, so it's a little late for that. (it cost about $3 million, has made over $40.) How do you figure it breeds welfare? Even if I were a lazy s.o.b., nothing in the film makes a life on welfare look appealing.
Polanski joke for the win!
I think liberals think and believe that anyone who is not 'like them' is either a red neck closet homosexual or a poverty stricken monster. They especially love movies about schizophrenics who are 'helped' by a kindly social worker. Back in the 1700s, the rich enjoyed touring insane asylums, because the inmates were so interesting and 'colorful' and amusing… Today's Liberals are no different. They have no sense of Tragedy. It is all just Spectacle to them.
Watch Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa if you need a palette cleanser after Precious. There should always be a place for well-meaning misfits, but inner cities are not it: Vast untamed wilderness is.
"Gee, I'm really sorry your mom blew up, Precious."
Always remember the simple rules: Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.
I must admit I find myself muttering variations of that line during movies, TV shows and sometimes while reading.
I misread your comment. Now i get it. right on.
It's all good, bro. See how this movie f*cks with good people's minds?
the more conservatives and decent people discuss this movie the more academy awards will be thrusted upon it. if you take a real good look at the past decade, most of the winners played characters with little or no more value. These films don't make any real money. See if Transformers 2, Twilight or any other blockbuster will receive any serious nominations. The movies which would better off as art house fioms get the nods. A payoff for Americans not seeing this ilk. so in other owrds, this film will clean up and put even more white guilt trash out there. Besides this is George Bush's fault anyway, yeah right.
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But could Precious ski the dreaded K-12???
Absolute "dribble" ! The writing was atrocious.
In a world where EVERYONE–even the very poor–have access to technology, there is literally no excuse for NOT knowing a better way to live than the life that this movie depicts. The problem with a "better life" is that it takes tremendous effort on the part of the person who aspires to that life. Far too many people–from all races–choose to stay stuck in the world of "gimmes" and "handouts." And of course, the rap/hiphop genre glorifies that world. As a teacher, I researched the curriculums of St. Mark's, Hockaday, etc. so that I could build my curriculum in order to give my students in public school similar knowledge. Did it work? Many of my students went on to some of the best schools in the country. For many others even the question, "Do you want fries with that?" is an unattainable dream.
Only if he knows the street value of the mountain.
Everybody wants some. I want some, too.
This is pushed on Middle Schoolers as literature.
And everyone wonders why kids hate to read these days.
I'm wondering why all the blacks aren't screaming that it's racist or stereotyping.
"THe Blind Side" dealt with the issue of a young man spun off human wreckage in a manner that gave people HOPE. It didn't need to wallow in Michael's dismal past to get the message across it was appalling. The Left ltalks up books and movies that are empty nilistic, and no one has the Liberal balls to admit they hated them.
Just listen to Liberals who dutifully went to see Brokeback Mountain. All tolerant and open-minded. Poor things, see their faces afterwards? Practically ash-green. And heard this twenty times verbatim, "Well, the scenery was beautiful."
A hilarous show of tolerance for a movie that was everything real cowboys think of sheepherders.
Working off Noltes writing and ssts comment above gave me the thought that films with a tone such as this one, are almost required to give a lesson of some kind – moral, spiritual, something – to make up for the emotional cost of watching it.
The rich and "famous" ones all LOVED this movie. Go figure…………………….
I haven't seen the film but it seems to me that Mr. Nolte's review was a little heavy handed. Maybe he wrote it directly after watching the film, maybe not but the hammer came down pretty hard there, Nolte..
You think watching Precious is brutal, wait until you see the reality for all that's coming in the future!
I can't argue with you without giving the whole thing away, and you are right, until that last piano made it all pointless.
Sadly, sometimes the life lesson is…there isn't always a happy ending, that no matter how much help a person may have, no matter how much determination they may have…they lose anyway because the deck is too stacked. We don't want to believe this in a country where "anyone can do anything if they just BELIEVE," but sometimes believing isn't enough. Sadly, "Precious" uses jagged bricks and handfuls of broken glass on your emotions to get this message across.
Some blacks are. Some are loudly debating the intentions of a movie where the dark-skinned heroine is aided soley by lighter-skinned blacks, why black men are yet again portrayed as ravening demons, and why virtually every negative black stereotype has to be paraded in front of white America yet again, as to why, in the age of Obama, this is the image of blacks the film maker felt he had to bring to life.
Somehow I get the feeling I could see everything in this movie by watching one "Maury" show.
How dare you question a movie made by the Oprah and therefore, Obama? You must be racist!
Not really.
I have to agree that the movie is gross, depressing and a few other negatives. It is, however, an execellent portrayal of the darkest side of the welfare state. I have not seen a movie acomplish that before.
It's already a hit, so it's a little late for that. (it cost about $3 million, has made over $40.) How do you figure it breeds welfare? Even if I were a lazy s.o.b., nothing in the film makes a life on welfare look appealing.
I spent Thanksgiving with liberals and there were two movies they were interested in seeing: "Precious" and "The Messenger."
Reason #462 not to be liberal: you don't have to see bad movies to feel good about yourself.
Exactly why would I pay to go see a film where I'll be very depressed after it ends? I'll pass thanks. Life is dour enough as it is. There is no need pass off the worst of humanity's lows as "entertainment".
It's a sad situation all around. I checked out IMDB to find out more about Precious and found quite a few threads dealing with how members of the audience in urban areas were actually laughing during most of the film. It is shocking, but such is the harsh reality of how desensitized many have become to the type of brutality and violence depicted in this film.
The Welfare State in this country is a failure in every way imaginable.
If I want to see Precious, all I have to do is board a bus,
the reason blacks aren't yelling is that it portrays them honestly. This is how most of them live. I saw the film and realized how absolutely out of control our system is that allows this type of existance to exist in the first place. Who is being 'helped' by the welfare system? Welfare should be a positive step to a new self sustaining, meaningful start after a mistake. Instead it has become a substandard method of existance for millions of people who have been taught since birth that they have no other way to live.
Opra likes it 'cause it makes her look skinny.
Worst movie I have seen. I mean forever. I was looking forward to this movie since Tyler Perry said it was good. Oprah should stick with her books and degradding teabaggers since she has lost her mind. Too bad people didnt realize she was a commie twenty years ago before she got rich off all the so called American citizens who watched her show. I bet she would no longer make it.
maatkare — i love it when we agree …
It was very hard to watch, but I saw it with my daughter, a recent college grad who loves entertainment and abhors current events and history. It turned out to be an effective way to have a conversation with her about the real outcomes of the welfare state and the true and continuing racism set in motion under Lyndon Johnson. Big Hollywood has been a valuable resource in building a bridge between our conservative, right-loving, pro-life home and her fear of having any overt positions on anything that matters. Thanks Andrew!
Worse than the book?
The book, "PUSH", that this film is based on, is execrable, BTW.
John, a much better (and enjoyable!) movie already has the title "Better Off Dead". Whatever you think of John Cusack (sp.???) this movie was pretty funny. Or so I remember it, I watched it back in the days when I was great friends with beer and everything was different then. Hope everyone had a great Christmas, Happy New Year!
When I was teaching high school all the kids LOVED reading books like this one, and I didn't get it. "Push" and all the "Child Called It" series were constantly being fought over at the library. Out of curiosity I read a few pages from "Child Called It" and wanted to go throw up. I did not get the appeal at all. I talked to some of my colleagues about it, trying to understand it, and they said for some reason kids really like stories of abuse. Sick. Just sick.
Our hearts should be full of rage that we allow politicians to prostitute real human beings that this caricature represents on the silver screen. We must stop this perversion from ever occurring in the first place. November 2010 is a good place to start.
I read the book. I found it an unspoken cry for something better than the victim mentality, like maybe it was a statement of admission as to the dead end of welfare dependency, the need to pick oneself up and work hard, and the value of life. I didn't see the movie because I don't want to give money to liberalism.
On a personal level, I identified with Precious because even though I had a more comfortable upbringing, I was still devalued and I still didn't know who I was. I dreamed of being a star but didn't have the gumption to try hard. I didn't have that much support from people who mattered.
Another thing I observed was Precious' racist hatred toward whites. Surely the mentality she is in, with the welfare dead-end and the self-defeatism being so obvious, is wrong and so is the puny racist attitude. At the top of their heads, the audience will think she is right but in the back of their minds, I hope when they do the algebra they can see that they are their own punishment until they decide to stop.
I was waiting for you to give such a clear view of this mess! I thank you for watching it for me I do not want to see all that abuse and suffering… I am not confused by it. Hate is what is the driving force of this movie, I have no place for it in my life, would not pay for it either!
I knew where is this Oprah/Tyler project coming from and sadly staying in projects…line is clear and drawn. From now on, with expansion of black cinema, we will see more and more of projects like this. I am asking why? Asking it now rather then later? Can you please look into that?Any assesment of black cinema, Oscar nominated actors and other break through's?
I am very pleased with your position of editor in chief.
Thank you for honoring your work ,responsibility ,integrity and staying true to us -readers!
Maybe you should have tried something really radical and asked your students.
Opra is so fat and ugly!
We had two choices when this movie was released — see it or "The Blind Side". I am SO glad we opted for "The Blind Side". Another true story about a down-and-out young black person, but unlike "Precious", there is much hope and redemption in "TBS". We liked it so well we caught it a second time and took relatives to see it. They loved Big Mike as much as we did. Forget the depressing "Precious". Check out NFL player Michael Oher's true story in "The Blind Side".
Harry Potter? Twilight? Gossip Girl? Lightening Thief? Kids love to read these days. They just don't like assigned reading; not sure they ever did.
This is what happens when you put white liberals who can't mind their own business in charge of the money.
Hah! Me, too, Big John, and yet…as ravaged as I felt, I can't hate the movie. Maybe it's Gabourey Sidibe's performance as Precious, her character's refusing to give up even though after the last anvil I was ready to, I don't know. If a movie's supposed to spur emotions and make you think–it worked. The last time I felt so viscerally exhausted was after "Passion of the Christ," when for two hours Mel Gibson made me watch this perfectly nice young man get the crap beaten bloodily out of him. (Minor aside: did anyone realize the nurse was played by rocker Lenny Kravitz? And were you ever so glad to see The View's Sherri Shepherd play her stale sassy gal schtick? Daniels got some surprisingly good work out of very surprising non-actors.)
A weird fallout for me from the film: I saw "Blind Side" several weeks after "Precious," and while "Blind Side" is a textbook, feel good, take your grandma to it, old-fasioned at its heart movie, it looked and felt like a cartoon in comparison. (and I liked it) Michael Oher's story is _true_ and yet it came off as feeling almost trivial.
Because at heart, in spite of her upbringing she's a good person?
I did that too. They couldn't explain it very well, just "I saw it on Oprah."
I read the book, too. Would not want to see the movie, even though I would love to see a de-glammed Mariah acting.
I can't help but think this film will help no one and will hurt many. Blacks living in squalor and poverty can rise out of it, but not with the liberals standing on their heads pushing them back into the mud. If this review is factual, and Nolte usually is, then it does have a theme and that is – "don't bother trying."
Disagree. There's Pro Life and Pro Welfare. I haven't seen the film and am going by Nolte's review, but from what I gather had Precious had an abortion, she would have been ineligible for welfare, WIC and all the other goodies that accrue from having a child whose father is (as they say with alley cats) "a travelin' man".
Or would Precious just sleep with (and presumably be impregnated by) that slick Roy Stalin?
The review is harsh, but in all fairness, the movie is _that_ unrelenting and hard to watch.
I can't see what her problem is. She's clearly not going to starve to death.
I think Rick would get her pregnant and Gary would pay for the abortion and then lose her to Rick anyway.
(see how I tied it to another Diane Franklin movie?)
One begs to question why "Precious" is receiving such accolades by the movie industry, while "The Blind Side" gets nothing. I'm sure I know the answer – I just wish someone would ask the question aloud. I hope people continue to chose to see the latter movie, just based on the fact that "The Blind Side" overcomes the color barrier to show real human beings caring for each other.
Movies don't receive awards by catering to the least common denominator.
I try to work that particular line into real life conversations every chance I get.
SImple, just put her on skis and point her downhill. Go that way real fast, if something gets in your way (looks her up and down), just run it over.
Depends on if she drank her brother's monster eggnog that he makes using battery acid.
Double plus for the "Last American Virgin" reference.
nope, she would bitch slap Stalin and speak the "language" with Ricky.
Wow, when the Lawrence Monoson references start flying around we're really in trouble!
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