“Precious” isn’t your standard, predictable melodrama, but an intimately told, startlingly real story that makes you feel for its characters in a way that more clever and big-budget movies don’t.

Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry collaborate for the first time in the heartbreaking film directed by Lee Daniels that’s already generating a lot of Oscar buzz. Based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire, “Precious” showcases break-out performances by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and the star-studded cast of Mo’Nique, Paula Patton and musicians Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz.

“Precious” is brutally honest in its depiction of the seamier realities of what young underprivileged African American women go through.  Precious is a sixteen-year-old girl living with her abusive mother in Harlem, while pregnant with her second child from her own father.

Mo’Nique’s much-praised performance as the abusive parent, especially in the painful last scene where she breaks down, gives a key twist to the entire movie.  It takes superior talent to play such a powerful role, especially for someone previously known only for her comic gifts.

Sidibe’s portrayal of the overweight, illiterate Precious is so raw and realistic, it’s impossible to not sympathize during some intense moments in the film. Whether she’s cooking food for her family, playing with her newborn, ducking from the T.V remote her mother throws at her or fantasizing about walking on the red carpet, she makes the viewer want to cry with her rather than just cry for her.  In fact, one would have to be extremely insensitive not to break out crying at least twice during the entirety of the film.

There is some humorous dialogue here and there and the ending is uplifting, but be sure to carry a box of tissues when you go to see this film.  What makes this humane film stand apart is its refusal to descend into cliché or to flinch from the truth.