Send the Oscar to Mo’Nique for ‘Precious’

I wasn’t the first person to say that  Heath Ledger should win an Oscar for his role as The Joker in “Dark Knight.” And I’m certainly not the first person to begin making Oscar comments for 2009.

But I do want to be among the first to say that Mo’Nique should win - not just be nominated for but actually win - the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in “Precious.” In the film, Mo’Nique (that’s the stage name of the comic actress Monique Imes) plays Mary, the mother of the protagonist Clarice “Precious” Jones (Gabourney Sidibe).

But to call Mary a mother is like calling urine lemonade. It may quench your thirst, but it’ll end up killing you. Precious would get more compassion, understanding and love from a hungry pit bull.

In fact, what Precious goes through is so hard, so viscerally exhausting to a sensitive viewer’s soul, “Precious” the film - which is based on the novel “Push” by the single-name author Sapphire (birth name Ramona Lofton) - is going to be too harsh for many to appreciate. It would be hard for anyone to embrace so difficult is the world that Sapphire explores.

But art isn’t always pretty. And the more raw the art is, the more authentic it often feels. And though director Lee Daniels often resorts to stylisms to get his point across - or merely to break the spell of Sapphire’s unrelenting story line - the best parts of the film are the most raw.

And most of those moments involve Mo’Nique. In one sense, “Precious” is like many of the ghetto-kids-survive tales, from “Stand and Deliver” to “Freedom Writers.” But it follows no standard plot line. And just when the film looks as if it’s going to become a heart-warming story of a sensitive teacher (Paula Patton) leading her young student (Sidibe) to a better life, the film takes a twist.

Throughout everything, there is Mo’Nique, pulling off one of the bravest performances I have ever seen. Her character is selfish and mean and brutal and weak and vulnerable and, through it all, utterly authentic. It’s enough to break your heart, and it almost breaks Clarice’s.

It doesn’t, though. It just makes her stronger. Such is the power of art.

Maybe the Motion Picture Academy will agree.