Mariah Carey Connection

Rating: 4 out of 5

At this year’s Oscars, the underdogs triumphed. The indie war film The Hurt Locker sucker-punched the mighty, effects-laden Avatar, while the startling, very un-Hollywood Precious nabbed two awards and four nominations.

This small, personal movie from director Lee Daniels is adapted from the novel Push by Sapphire and snapped up the Oscars for Best Supporting Actress (Mo’Nique) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

It tells the story of Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a young woman abused and neglected by her domineering mother (Mo’Nique), who is largely ignored by her school and society at large.

Sixteen years old and pregnant for the second time by her absent father, Precious escapes her horrendous life by fantasising that she is famous and has a handsome boyfriend.

But reality kicks in when her schoolteacher finally notices that, despite her age and success in certain subjects, Precious can neither read nor write.
Given the chance to transfer to an alternative school, Precious is surprised at how soon she bonds with her fellow students in the literacy workshop and her forthright but friendly teacher Ms Rain (Paula Patton). Finally, it seems as if her future may be about to get brighter.

Mo’Nique deservedly got her gong for playing the loathsome mother so convincingly, while Sidibe is astounding as put-upon Precious.

Her pain jumps off the screen, and yet the lighter moments when she escapes into her imagination display Sidibe’s diverse talent.

This is a hard to watch yet important film, and Mariah Carey has some blink-and-you’d-miss-them cameos as a kindly but dowdy social worker. There are loads of behind the scenes snippets on the DVD and Blu-ray.

Source: Daily Mirror