Precious (2009)
Director:
Lee Daniels
Tagline:
« The Longest Journey Begins With A Single Step. »
Actors:
Precious
Mary
Ms. Rain
Ms. Weiss
Cornrows
Genre:
Drama
Rating:
(121’561 votes)
(121’561 votes)
Quotes:
« Clareece 'Precious' Jones: The other day, I cried. I felt stupid. But you know what? Fuck that day. That's why God, or whoever, makes new days.
»
« Mary: We would, we would, uh, start doin' it, and he reached over… and he touched my baby. And I asked him, and I said "Carl, what are you doing"? And he told me to shut, to shut my fat ass up, and it was good for her.
»
« Mrs. Weiss: And what did you do then?
»
« Mary: I shut my fat ass up. And I don't want you to sit there and judge me, Miss Weiss.
»
« Mrs. Weiss: [Angrily] You shut up and you let him abuse your daughter.
»
« Mary: I didi not want him to abuse my daughter. I did not want him to hurt her.
»
« Mrs. Weiss: [Overlapping with Mary's voice] But you ALLOWED him to hurt her!
»
« Mary: I did not want him to do nothin' to her. I wanted him to make love to me. That was my man. That was my fuckin' man. That was my man, and he wanted my daughter. And that's why I hated her. Because my man who was supposed to be loving me, who was supposed to be making love to me was fucking my baby. And she made him leave. She made him go away.
»
« Mrs. Weiss: So whose fault was that?
»
« Mary: It's this bitch's fault, because she let my man have her. And she didn't say nothin', she didn't scream, she didn't do nothin'. So, those things that she told you I did to her? Who… who… who else was going to love me? Hmmm? Since you got your degree, and you know every fuckin' thing, who was gonna love me? Who… who… was gonna make me feel good? Who was gonna touch me, and make me feel good late at night? And she made him go away. So… when you sit there, and you writin' them fuckin' notes on your pad about who you think I am, and why I did it and all of that… because I didn't have a man.
»
« Clareece 'Precious' Jones: Nurse say I'm HIV positive. I ain't got nothing to write today.
»
« Rhonda: Is your baby okay?
»
« Clareece 'Precious' Jones: He alright. I just got to stop breastfeeding him.
»
« Ms. Rain: I remember you once told me you never got to tell your story. Write.
»
« Clareece 'Precious' Jones: FUCK YOU! You don't know nothing of what I been through!
»
[begins to cry]
« Clareece 'Precious' Jones: I ain't never had no boyfriend. My daddy say he gonna marry me. How he gonna do that? Would fucking be illegal!
»
« Ms. Rain: Write.
»
« Clareece 'Precious' Jones: I'm tired, Ms. Rain.
»
« Ms. Rain: If not for yourself, then for the people who love you.
»
« Clareece 'Precious' Jones: Nobody loves me.
»
« Ms. Rain: People do love you, Precious.
»
« Clareece 'Precious' Jones: Please don't lie to me, Ms. Rain. Love ain't done nothing for me. Love beat me. Raped me. Called me an animal. Make me feel worthless. Make me sick!
»
« Ms. Rain: That wasn't love, Precious. Your baby loves you. *I* love you. Write.
»
Runtime:110 minutes
Plots:
In New York City’s Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.
In 1987 Harlem, 16-year-old Claireece Jones, who goes by her middle name, Precious, is illiterate, overweight, and pregnant–for the second time, by the same man: her biological father, who has molested and raped her since she was a child, but whom she doesn’t see otherwise. Her infant daughter, nicknamed Mongo because she has Down Syndrome, lives with Precious’ grandmother; Precious herself lives with her mother Mary, who abuses her physically and emotionally. Mary does nothing but smoke, watch TV, and collect welfare through fraud (she doesn’t even look for jobs) and believes that education does nothing for Precious; she would rather have Precious also collect welfare, if only to bring money into the household. To escape her life, Precious daydreams of herself in glamorous situations. Because of her current pregnancy, Precious’ principal transfers her into an alternative school, where sympathetic teacher Miss Blu Rain tries to convince her that she can have a future if she learns how to read and write, and Precious starts to believe her. Despite devastating news from her mother following her baby’s birth, Precious also starts to believe that she can escape the grip of her abusive mother–who, up to this point, was Precious’ only real support.
Harlem, 1987. Although nobody believes it, people call her “Precious”. But on the city’s mean streets, Claireece Jones is bullied, called names, and pushed about; at home, things are even worse. To survive the daily abuse, Precious has secretly created a safe fantasy world; in this protective realm of delusion, everything is bright, everyone is kind, and she is the leading lady. After all, being pregnant with a second child at sixteen is tough. Who knows, maybe love and compassion are hidden somewhere in this world.
Official website:
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