On "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire"

From The Dispatch:

Precious' fantasies, brought on as an escape mechanism during traumatic moments, are distracting and grating, awkwardly pulling the audience out of the moment and interrupting it with something that is tonally incongruous with the rest of the film.

Those moments are what push "Precious" in the TV movie of the week direction. But when Daniels steps back and lets the story and the performances speak for themselves, this is powerful stuff. Newcomer Sidibe gives a fearless and magnetic performance as Precious, but it is Mo'Nique who really steals the show. Her mother-from-hell is one of the most frightening and repulsive screen characters in recent memory, and Mo'Nique imbues her with a subtlety that is both haunting and terrifying.

Click here to read my full review.