"I'm gonna break through, or somebody gonna break through to me."
This declaration sums up the mission statement of Clareece "Precious" Jones (Gabourney Sidibe). Precious lives in Harlem, and at 16 is pregnant with her second child -- fathered by her own father. She somehow manages to get good grades, despite her illiteracy and hellish home life. Mercifully, her father isn't around much, but her mother, portrayed by fellow future Oscar nominee Mo'Nique, does her best to make up for his absence with constant verbal, emotional, and physical abuse.

Precious finds herself with a chance to attend an alternative school, called Each One, Teach One. She doesn't really understand what is being offered to her, but she is smart enough to know that this is an opportunity, and she decides to take it. It is this decision on her part that enables her to right her course, and choose a new life for herself.

Chief among her helpers along the way is Ms. Rain (Paula Patton). Others include social worker Mrs. Weiss (Mariah Carey) and Nurse John (Lenny Kravitz). These are the people who, with kindness and determination, take the time to break through to Precious.

I can't say enough about this film. It's gritty as bone crushed between teeth, and every moment from titles to credits plays as real as it gets. The actors are disarmingly good, which is all the more amazing due to the fact that most of them have limited film resumes. It is lead actor Sidibe's first.



www.WeAreAllPrecious.com