A Brilliant, Brutal Film

I'd never heard of it before,but this sounds interesting.



Beyond the red carpets and talk shows, Oscar buzz and celebrity cameos, Precious remains rooted in two key figures: its titular protagonist Claireece Precious Jones and Sapphire herself. Precious, the character, is a flow-chart of human misery achingly brought to the screen by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. Raped from infancy by her father and horrifically abused by her shut-in mother, Precious is barely educated, woefully overweight, and pregnant (for the second time) via incest at 16 years old. Slipping through the cracks of a social services system fated to fail her, she is taunted for her size, teased for her dark skin, and nearly tossed aside for her lack of schooling. But mostly, Precious is invisible—a faceless, voiceless outlet for her father’s lust, her mother’s rage, and a crack-fueled 1980s culture of expendability.

Yet within Sapphire’s hands, Precious is brutally and honestly rendered human. “Ralph Ellison spoke of an invisible man, but girls like Precious are our invisible young women—not seen by their own people let alone white society,” says Sapphire, who counts everyone from Allen Ginsberg to Ellison himself as literary totems. “But Precious is a deeply introspective, deep-thinking character and this propels the narrative,” she continues. “ is not a ‘violence in Harlem’ story, but the rich inner life of a girl who at times may feel crazy or seem paranoid—but is merely reacting to what is actually going on around her


http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-18/falls-raw-sleeper-smash/

Gets general release next month. Don't know if it will play art houses or mainstream theaters, though. With Oprah and Tyler Perry as exec producers, I expect a wide release, but I've been wrong before.