Precious
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Precious – rm – An extremely obese abused black pregnant teenager with one defective toddler child already, gets kicked out of school. You probably can’t imagine a more depressing difficult situation than this, but actually her problems are even much worse than this description. However, she finds her way to an Alternative School and a no-nonsense teacher who cares about her and the other misfits in the class. The gritty bleak environment in which Precious lives is captured in a very palpable manner by Director Lee Daniels based on a novel titled Push by Sapphire and a screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher. Gabourey Sidibe in a remarkable debut performance conveys the depths of despair and determination of her character but also has a chance to show the emotions of joy which Precious imagines in brief fantasy flashbacks. As good as she is in this role, if only one acting award is to be given from this movie, it should go to Mo’Nique who plays the despicable mother of Precious who expresses her fury as well as unfolding the pitiful vulnerability of her character. This movie is the story of one person’s life living in a more common terrible ghetto environment. You would almost think that there are no descent black males here if it were not for the depiction of a caring young male nurse whom Precious encounters in the hospital sensitively played by Lenny Kravitz. . Also if you haven’t heard, Mariah Carey is “unbeautified†and plays an intense social worker. Oprah Winfrey who has the clout to make things happen as well as Tyler Perry equally successful actor/writer/producer were the forces that pushed this film to the screen. This movie will hit you in the gut, but if you can take it, you will have an unforgettable glimpse into the struggles that some young people have been dealing with in our inner cities. (2009)