Top 5 Thursday: Depressing Movies

Sometimes, when you’re feeling down and it feels like the end of the world, you need to watch a depressing movie. Just to see that there are worse things in the world, not to cheer you up. Mostly these are movies that you shouldn’t watch with your family or in a good mood. Here are the most depressing movies ever.

5. Precious

An unflinching portrayal of child abuse, as Gaboury Sidibe’s eponymous teen struggles with rape, domestic violence, illiteracy and pregnancy. It’s based on true events too, as if it wasn’t dispiriting enough …

 

 

4. The Mist

Frank Darabont’s creature-feature adaptation of a novella by Stephen King is a thoroughly enjoyable (if more than a little icky) horror romp that suddenly takes a turn for the mind-numbingly tragic come the final scene…

 

 

3. Leaving Las Vegas

You’re essentially using your Friday-night trip to the movies to watch a deeply unhappy man drink himself to death for two hours. Uplifting, it ain’t.

 

 

2. Million Dollar Baby

Hilary Swank’s tough-as-nails boxer ends up a paraplegic, burdened by a heartless family and reduced to biting through her own tongue in the hope of bleeding to death. Even Clint cries in this one.

 

 

1. Requiem for a Dream

Darren Aronofsky’s waking nightmare follows four lives ravaged by various forms of addiction. Electro-shock therapy, intravenous drug use, prostitution… it’s not exactly a laugh riot.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Black Swan, Blue Valentine, 21 Grams, The Wrestler

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 20: Precious

Director: Lee Daniels
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd

Description: In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, the overweight, abused, illiterate teen Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Review: Not a lot of people would want to trade lives with Claireece ‘Precious’ Jones. She is sixteen, weighs 330 pounds and lives in one of the poorest neighborhoods of New York. She can barely read and write and is constantly bullied at school. Despite all that she’s rather in school then at home with her mother. She yells at Precious, treats her like a slave and abuses her. Four years ago she had a child with Down Syndrom, who was conceived by her own father. He rapes her and Precious is now expecting her second child. Mother Mary does nothing. She blames Precious for stealing her husband.
Lee Daniels previously produced movies like “Monster’s Ball” and “The Woodsman”, which also dealt with heavy themes. In the first 45 minutes of “Precious” you don’t see one inch of hope for the young girl. When she meets Ms. Rain at the alternative school ‘Each One, Teach One’, Precious grows, she blooms. Paula Patton easily could have made Ms. Rain into a soft teacher, but instead she portrays her as a strong woman on a mission.
“Precious” stands out because of the convincing acting performances. Newbie Gabourey Sidibe is overwhelming in her title role. She is believable. Mariah Carey surprised everyone as social worker Ms. Weiss, who only has a few scenes but was very solid. The best performance is by Mo’Nique, who is known as a comedienne. She plays Precious’ mother and is scary good as the mom from hell.
“Precious” is a grabbing film, that leaves a mark. I don’t understand why Lee Daniels wanted to make this movie a bit lighter by adding several dream sequences. And there are also some irrelevant close-ups and misplaced symbolic. But you do have the constant feeling that you’re dealing with real people and real misery. That this film gets under your skin is because of the wonderful acting.

Rating: 3/ 5