Film analysis - Precious

Film facts:

The movie is named after the main character "Precious". It was made in the year of 2009 in the United States of America. The director of the movie is named Lee Daniels, and some of the actors in the movie are Gabourey Sidibe as Precious, Mo'Nique as Precious' mother and Paula Patton as Ms. Rain. The movie is based on the book "Push" by the American author Sapphire.

Genre:

I think that the movie falls under the genre of drama. There are a lot of dramatic scenes in the movie, fighting, rape, dramatic conversations and much more.   
One example is when Precious' mother Mary gets upset when her daughter comes home with another baby, whom she got with her father, and drop him on the floor. She is upset because she is jealous of Precious, and the fact that Precious' father loved Precious more than he loved her. Precious and her mother starts to fight, and as a result of this Precious moves out.

Setting:

The movie is set in Harlem, New York City in 1987. Harlem is a very poor area with a very troubled environment, and there are many kids with drug and various problems. In Harlem there is a majority of black people, and in the movie you notice it when she walks on the streets and attend the public school.

Plot and structure:

It's Harlem 1987. Sixteen year old Claireece Jones, who goes by her middle name Precious, is an illiterate, overweight black girl. She is pregnant with her second child, both children fathered by her biological father, who has continually raped her since she was a child, but who she doesn't see otherwise. Her infant daughter, Mongo - such named since she has Down Syndrome - lives with Precious' grandmother. Precious lives with her mother Mary, who abuses Precious both physically and emotionally. Mary does nothing but smoke, watch television and collect welfare through fraud (as she doesn't ever look for a job) and believes that education does nothing for Precious, who she would rather also collect welfare if only to bring money into the household. To escape her life, Precious often daydreams of herself in glamorous situations. Because of her current pregnancy, Precious' principal transfers her into an alternative school. In dealing with the school's sympathetic teacher Miss Blu Rain, Precious begins to believe that she can have a future by learning how to read and write. Despite some devastating news from her mother following the birth of her child, Precious also begins to believe she can escape the grips of her abusive mother, who, up to this point, was Precious' only real support. 
The movie is in chronological order but there are continuous flashbacks.


Sources:

http://ndla.no/en/node/10649
http://ndla.no/en/node/99995
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/plotsummary