She's not at all like Precious, but in her first performance, she not only understands this character but knows how to make her attract the sympathy of her teacher, the social worker - and ourselves. You meet Sidibe, who is engaging, outgoing and 10 years older than her character, and you're almost startled. She so completely creates the Precious character that you rather wonder if she's very much like her. Her work is still another demonstration of the mystery of some actors, who evoke feelings in ways beyond words and techniques. The film is a tribute to Sidibe's ability to engage our empathy. Mary, the mother, is perhaps not a bad woman but simply one defeated by the forces she now employs against her daughter.

Why would a teacher and a social worker go to such lengths to intervene? They must see tragic victims of abuse every day. Daniels must have an instinct for performances waiting to flower.Ĭarey and Patton are equal with Sidibe in screen impact the film holds the girl in the center of their attempt to save her future. Daniels began his career by producing ' Monster's Ball,' in which Halle Berry shed her glamour and found such depths that she won an Oscar. Somehow he was able to see beneath the surface and trust that they had within the emotional resources to play these women, and he was right. But Lee Daniels, the director, didn't cast them for their names, and actually doesn't use any of their star qualities. This casting looks almost cynical on paper, as if reflecting old Hollywood days when stars were slipped into 'character roles' with a wink. Rain, Precious' teacher, who is able to see through the girl's sullen withdrawal and her vulgarities, and wonder what pain it may be masking.

The comedian Mo'Nique plays Mary, Precious' chain-smoking couch potato of a mother, treating her daughter like a domestic servant and turning a blind eye on years of abuse. Audiences may be hard-pressed to recognize them. Three other actresses perform so powerfully in the film that academy voters will be hard-pressed to choose among them. Sidibe is heartbreaking as Precious, that poor girl. I know her in my family, I know her in my friends, I've seen her, I've lived beside this girl.' Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe, a young actress in her debut performance as Precious, says, 'I know this girl.

That is the starting point for 'Precious,' a great American film that somehow finds an authentic way to move from these beginnings to an inspiring ending.

Precious novel by sapphire