PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

Haunting and disturbing, with a performance by Mo'Nique that you won't be able to shake for days, Precious is difficult to watch, but tells a story that needs to be told.

I have to admit, I avoided the movie Precious for a long time. I heard about the story: in 1980s Harlem, an obese 16-year-old lives with her horrifically abusive mother on welfare, and she is pregnant for the second time by her own father. Shudder. After seeing it, I won't say that the film, officially (and awkwardly) titled Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire turns out actually to be a heartwarming tale of redemption and renewal (it's not, really), but thankfully the story allows a bit of light at the end of a very bleak tunnel.

Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe plays Clareece "Precious" Jones. She is hugely overweight (you see why, as her mother practically force-feeds her fried food like pig feet), has already had a child by her own father (the girl, born with Down Syndrome, is called "Mongo"—as in Mongoloid—and lives with grandma). Her horrific welfare mother Mary (Mo'Nique) is both verbally and physically abusive, and sits on her ass watching TV all day. If that isn't enough, Precious is also picked on by cruel neighborhood boys, is illiterate, and has been held back so many times she is still in Junior High. Of all things, it is her second pregnancy (again by her mostly absent dad) that gets her kicked out of school, and recommended for an alternative school.

Until the new school, the only thing that Precious has had to get her through her hellish life is her imagination. When presented with the unthinkable abuse or humilation, she zones out and enters her fantasy word: a Technicolor life of glamour where she has a "light-skinned boyfriend with good hair," beautiful clothes, and many admirers. But unfortunately for her, she always gets shocked back into reality.

Slowly, though, the attentions of her kind new teacher (Paula Patton) as well as an unwavering social worker (the surprisingly good, and glammed-down Mariah Carey) slowly show her that she CAN ask for help. She CAN improve her life and take control of her situation. She CAN learn to read and eventually get a GED and a job. She CAN be the good mother to her own children, despite the horrible example set by her own mom.

Precious has received many accolades, especially for its actors, including Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best Actress (Gabourey Sidibe), and Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique). But it is Mo'Nique who is getting the most attention, sweeping the awards with her portrayal of Mary, a woman so full of anger that she hates her own child for stealing her man! Knowing of all the accolades, I watched her performance carefully. I admit, during the first half of the film, Mo'Nique, who is best known for being a comedienne, seemed almost uncomfortable as Mary... like she was fighting the character as much as the character was fighting Precious. But I will tell you, she won me over by the end, specifically with an astonishing scene where she tries to make her case to the social worker. Her speech is so jaw-dropping and delusionally disturbing, that when she tells Mariah Carey's Mrs. Weiss that she is basically out of her league, she may as well be addressing the stunned audience. It's like she just threw a frying pan at our heads, the moment is that powerful.

Of all the haunting sadness in this disturbing movie, Mo'Nique's Mary is the one thing that will truly stick with you. It is a minor miracle that the story is not only being recognized and praised, but that it has been told at all, "for all the Preciouses in the world".