The main character in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” has every right to give up.

She’s verbally and physically smacked around by her layabout mother, and what her father does to her on a regular basis is almost inhuman.

Yet there’s a light blazing within Claireece “Precious” Jones, a beacon powered by a will to survive that might just lead her out of the living hell she calls home.

It’s the kind of redemptive story we’ve seen many times before, but never told with the dignity director Lee Daniels injects into the material.

It’s also the best picture of 2009, and with a month and a half left in the calendar year it’s unlikely to be topped.

Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) has next to nothing to look forward to in life. She’s pregnant with her second child, a baby born from her father’s frequent rapings, is extremely overweight and stands to get tossed out of her high school.

But when she lands in an alternative school with a teacher (Paula Patton) who sees a good student buried under layers of neglect, Precious starts to come alive. She’ll need her teacher’s help, along with the kindness of a local social worker (Mariah Carey, unrecognizable sans her “Glitter” accoutrements) and her fellow students.

But there’s very little about “Precious” that follows paths trampled on by previous story arcs. Daniels, who previously gave us the deliriously daffy “Shadowboxer,” employs a daring visual style, blending fantasy sequences with ripe compositions that can easily fall into camp – or worse.

Nearly every bold choice pays off.

Mo’Nique, playing Precious’ welfare addicted mother, is a monster of the first order. But the comedienne shrewdly underplays some of the character’s more intense behavior. And when she tries to woo Precious back into her maternal embrace, it’s achingly real.

The story moves purposefully, with Precious reclaiming her humanity piece by piece.

Precious, the most difficult role, represents a remarkable first performance by the untested Sidibe. She’s wounded and angry, hopeful and hopeless, the actress switching smoothly across the spectrum from scene to scene. Her face is overblown and sad, but when she smiles the audiences sees a soul eager for escape.

The best movies, even those steeped in tragedy, give you the feeling of being alive, of being exposed to something that makes you cherish the good in your life all the more. “Precious” leaves audiences with precisely that experience, and it’s the first film of 2009 that shouldn’t be missed.

(Photo: Precious (Gabourey Sidibe, left) and Mary (Mo’Nique, right) in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)

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