Precious is the kind of movie that will tear you to shreds but leave you with hope.  The story of an overweight black teenage girl living with her abusive mother in Harlem, Precious is sure to break your heart over and over again in the two hours it’s on screen.  This is not a PG-Rated, inspirational after-school special.  Precious is an incredibly raw and honest film.  It has the heart of a Disney film with the teeth of a much darker more sinister story.  Precious is not unlike Hotel Rwanda or Schindler’s List in its commitment to exposing us to the evil in its story, and like those films it is the darkness that makes the light all the brighter.

Mo’Nique’s performance of Precious’ loathsome mother, Mary, was gut-wrenching.  I had a chance to listen to Michel Martin interview Mo’Nique on NPR’s Tell Me More, where she revealed that her inspiration for the role was her own mentally-ill and sexually abusive older brother.  She gives what is without a doubt an Oscar-worthy performance.

Precious will open your eyes to the reality of life in the midst of poverty and abuse.  It will open your eyes to frustrations of those who want to help but who have to fight bureaucracy every step of the way to do it.  And most of all it will reveal to you that no matter how bad things get… every single life is precious.