Precious

Director Lee Daniels' recent film, Precious, is set in Harlem in 1987. It's about an illiterate, overweight, sexually and physically abused 16 year old African American girl named Precious. It is based on the novel Push by Sapphire. The story's grim circumstances becomes one of survival when Precious finds strength as she begins to attend an alternative High School and ends the vicious cycle and culture of abuse in her life. In this breakthrough performance, first time actress, Gabourey Sidibe plays Precious, a 350 lb. girl who is pregnant a second time by her father. The cast of the film includes the comic Mo'Nique as the abusive mother Mary, who offers the horrifying role a realism that shook me. And there is a surprising performance by Mariah Carey as a welfare social worker, whose frankness of the situation was refreshing. I didn't even realize that it was Carey until after I read the credits in the movie. Lenny Kravitz also appears in the film as nurse John, where he charms all Precious' classmates.

Here's an insightful interview with Daniels, who has been the director of a nursing home, a casting agent, and a producer. He also elaborates on the physical abuse he suffered as a child and how that affected and formed his relationship with his father. And here's a short interview with Academy Award nominated Sidibe on Studio 360. I highly recommend this movie, and commend all the teachers that deal with students who come from a home situation where they lack a nurturing atmosphere, including my mother.