50 Things to See, Hear and Do This Fall

Opens Nov. 6
This teenager in 1980s Harlem has precious little to live for. She's illiterate and morbidly obese, her mother scolds and beats her, and she is pregnant with the second child by her absent father. Can Precious's life get any worse? Lee Daniels' Sundance prizewinner, based on the 1996 novel by Sapphire, asks a different question: Can this girl be saved? The answer comes from a caring teacher for whom no cause is hopeless. In an indie winner that's even more inspiring than it is harrowing, Gabourey Sidibe lends her full dramatic weight to Precious, and pop stars Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz shine in glamourless roles. But the big news is comic actress Mo'nique as the mother, a figure of surpassing horror and late-blooming pity. You should hear her name on Oscar night. —Richard Corliss

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