“Precious” is an important film, and one you should probably go and see. It’s important because it holds a magnifying glass up to the small and seemingly insignificant human tragedies that happen every day. That said, it’s not by any means an enjoyable film per se, and you might want to seriously consider whether your mind frame can cope with such an onslaught of unrelenting misery before attempting to see this. In short, be in a dark mood.

The story centers on Claireese “Precious” Jones, an obese, illiterate African-American teenager growing up in Harlem in 1987. Repeatedly raped and then impregnated by her father, she waits hand and foot on her sofa-bound, mentally and physically abusive mother. Precious’s only escape is her fantasies, where she dreams of being a thin, light-skinned movie star affectionately adored by her fans. After being expelled from school when she falls pregnant for the second time, she joins the “Each One Teach One” learning program for troubled teens, where she learns to read, and from there tentatively begins to take control of her life. 

Many probably have heard of the spectacular performances in “Precious,” and yes, you can believe the hype. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe plays the title role, and not only holds her own against Mo’Nique and Mariah Carey (both unexpectedly excellent in their respective roles as abusive mother and jaded social worker), she outshines them in every way, inhabiting the ungainly body of the troubled 16-year-old so completely you’d never believe she’s the outgoing star you might have seen on all the chat shows. 

The riveting story and excellent performances aside, I have a complaint about “Precious.” It is deliberately engineered with one goal in mind: to elicit as much stomach-knotting, tear-jerking emotional reaction from you as humanly (inhumanely?) possible. And once you start thinking about it, you can’t help but see every revelatory monologue as a bid for an Oscar, every gritty shot designed to extract maximum emotional reaction, wringing every last dreg of empathy from an increasingly horrified audience. In fact, it squeezes so much pathos from you that you reach saturation point and start thinking, “For chrissakes can’t someone give this girl a break before her piece-of-shit life reaches the point of almost comical absurdity?” Perhaps most viewers won’t be as cynical, and will blub heartily and enjoy the catharsis. I on the other hand left the theater feeling emotionally manipulated, and rather jaded.

3/5 Stars by Sarah Fung.

(USA) Directed by Lee Daniels. Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Niqe, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton. Category IIB, 111 minutes.