This movie is very hard to watch. That’s the main thing to know about this movie. The way Precious is treated by her mother is just appalling, I just don’t understand how can some mothers treat their own flesh and blood that way.
It’s a miracle that Precious is not even worse than she is, especially at the beginning of the story. She is definitely not a gentle soul, but who can blame her? She does have fantasies of a normal life, and on the surface they’re funny, but they really illustrate how hard her life is and how far from “normal” it is.
Luckily she does get a group of friends in the new school, people who have problems of their own, but that become real friends for her.
As much as I hated her mother bully Precious, I hated her even more when she pretended to be a good mother, complete with fake hair on top of everything else being fake. That was the scene I hated the most.
But there’s another scene, the final confrontation between between Precious and her mother in front of the social worker (played by Mariah Carey, who I did not recognize at all). It’s where we learn about the mother’s side, she’s trying to justify her hatred for Precious, but it just makes her even more hateful. She’s in tears and maybe even honest, but she’s also manipulating them. I’m glad that Precious could see through her.
The two performances definitely merit their nominations, and they’re enough to recommend this movie.
Rating: 3.5 Stars