Life is full of adversity and for some, the hurtles can be too much to bear. So is the case for Clareece ‘Precious’ Jones, the title character in Lee Daniels’ poorly titled Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, but rather than take the easy way out and walk away from life and all of the problems that plague it, Precious takes the higher road and decides to tacked the problems which are continuously stacked in her way.

Precious is 16 and pregnant with her second child. She can’t read or write, she’s verbally and physically abused by her mother and continuously raped by her father. It’s a sad life and one too depressing to be believed and though the immediate thought is that there are simply too many issues piled onto the character, it’s the overwhelming amount of issues that render the book and to an extent the film, so successful. Both mediums provides the story of a girl broken far beyond repair (or so one would imagine) and yet here she is, surviving. But everyone has a breaking point and though Precious’ comes much later than anyone could image, when she finally reaches it she takes the high road and changes her life for good.

Precious has a lot of good things going for it but the direction is the least interesting of the bunch. Daniels’ debut was a minor disaster of a film squandering away decent performances from Cuba Gooding Jr. and Helen Mirren and here, the direction is a little better but mostly uninteresting. When he does take a chance on something different, the result are a series of poorly conceived dream sequences that are jarring and temporarily take the viewer out of the film. It’s these scenes, along with a few others (notably the opening image of the floating scarf) that suggest the film comes from an inexperienced filmmaker. But Daniels isn’t completely unworthy of some praise because he does manage to keep the film going at a good pace and though the story is somewhat unbelievable, the power and emotion of the closing scenes is just as present in the film as it is in the novel. And then there’s the little fact that he manages to pull some outstanding performances from his cast.

The true strength of the film and the only reason to truly recommend it, are the performances and they simply don’t get much better than they do here. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe takes the role of Precious and makes her real, a girl with problems so enormous that even her walk suggests maturity well beyond her years. Both Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey break the cliché of singers turned bad actors and though Carey has displayed her lack of acting talent in the past, those days seem to be gone as she delivers a reserved performance worth a double take. Although the film is brimming with great performances, it’s Mo’Nique, a woman widely recognized from her roles on TV sitcoms, that shines brightest. Her performance as Precious’ mother is easily the most showy of the roles but one can’t overlook her outstanding delivery of the material; it’s a performance likely to garner her a well deserved Oscar nomination.

Precious is a remarkable film which teeters between pulpy forgettable drama and quality filmmaking. Though it continuously tries (and occasionally succeeds) in slipping into melodrama, the performances keep it grounded and lift it above mediocrity. Occasionally difficult to watch, it’s a surprisingly uplifting film which will leave the audience both depressed and energized, ready to tackle anything the world can throw at them.

See VIFF screening schedule for show times.