Precious

Lee Daniels

2009

Synopsis

Set in Harlem in 1987, Claireece "Precious" Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother, an angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is chaotic and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and a secret; She can't read.

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Cast

Gabourey SidibeClaireece "Precious" Jones
Mo'NiqueMary Lee Johnston
Paula PattonBlu Rain
Mariah CareyMrs. Weiss
Lenny KravitzJohn McFadden
Sherri ShepherdLisa Cornrows
Stephanie AndujarRita Romero
Chyna LayneRhonda Patrice Johnson
Amina RobinsonJermaine
Xosha RoquemoreJoann

Recommendations

100
Entertainment Weekly
It's a potent and moving experience, because by the end you feel you've witnessed nothing less than the birth of a soul.
100
Chicago Sun-Times
A great American film.
88
ReelViews
Manages the task of being both heartbreaking and heart-warming.
80
Film Threat
Shot in the manner of a grueling horror picture, with jittery edits to half-remembered traumas and glistening close-ups on the faces of monsters.
80
The Hollywood Reporter
As Precious, Sidibe is superb, allowing us to see the inner warmth and beauty of a young woman who, to her world's cruel eyes, might seem monstrous.
80
Variety
An urban nightmare with a surfeit of soul, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire is like a diamond -- clear, bright, but oh so hard.
70
Village Voice
Yet even when the movie is at its most schizoid, Precious still packs a wallop.
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)
The elements of Precious are powerful and shocking, but the movie is programmed. It is its own study guide.

Precious

Synopsis

Your Movie Library

Cast

Recommendations

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