User Reviews

Writer/Director Dee Rees is an inordinately talented newcomer. If PARIAH is indicative of the quality of films she will create, then we are in for a new level of verismo cinema. She tackles a tough subject - same sex relationships among African American women - with such insight and care to details that her film jumps off the screen screaming as in the words of her heroine 'I'm not running - I'm choosing': lesbian girls are not God's mistake (to quote the mother figure) but instead have the courage to accept their difference and embrace their sexuality and still become successful members of society.

Alike/Lee (Adepero Oduye, a fine young actress who hails from Brooklyn by way of Nigeria, a graduate of Cornell University who has studied acting with Wynn Handman, Austin Pendleton, and Susan Batson) is a 17-year old sexually conflicted girl who lives in Brooklyn with her younger very bright sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) and her parents - police detective father Arthur (Charles Parnell) and conservative, overprotective, biased mother Audrey (Kim Wayans). Alike is an excellent student, a blossoming poet, and a lesbian: she maintains tow life styles complete with clothes changes so that she can be the 'daughter' at home and herself outside the home. Alike's best friend Laure (Pernell Walker) is her support system as Laure is comfortable about being out as a lesbian. Alike's home life is strained as her ever arguing parents disagree on many factors, on of them being Alike's need to appear like a man. Audrey arranges for Alike to become friends with Bina (Aasha Davis) who is the daughter of one of Audrey's friends, an encouragement that eventually leads to Alike's surprise first sexual experience with a girl who is just 'doing her own thing' - ie, not a lesbian. This deeply affects Alike, she delves more deeply into her poetry and graduates early because of her shining school record. At a point of no return she is confronted by her parents and the manner in which she makes her decision as to 'run or choose' provides the ending of the story.

The cast is uniformly strong and though Adepero Oduye makes a show-stopping debut, the other actors are equally superb. Bradford Young is the cinematographer who helps create the atmosphere. The dialogue is delivered in street language and is often covered with shouting and with multiple characters talking simultaneously: subtitles help here. But the genius of the film is in the concept and the courage and in the amazing gift for creating meaning cinema that comes across as the work of Dee Rees. She is a talent to watch.

Grady Harp.

'Pariah' is the feature length expansion of a short film created by Dee Rees, presented at the Sundance Festival in 2007. It's basically a coming of age story focusing on a middle-class, black Lesbian teenager, Alike, played by Adepero Oduye. The title 'Pariah', is a bit of a strong epithet to describe Alike's situation, as she's mainly an outcast in the eyes of her mother Audrey (Kim Wayans), a devout Christian, who can't stomach the idea that her daughter is not really interested in men.

'Pariah' is uniformly well-acted with a slow-moving plot that holds few surprises. In fact, take away the black middle-class environment and you'd be left with pretty much your ordinary 'coming out' tale of a conflicted gay teenager. All the stock characters are there including the 'villain' of the piece, the aforementioned intolerant mother as well as the more sympathetic police detective father, Arthur, who's not crazy about his daughter's choice of sexual orientation but still holds a special place in his heart for 'daddy's girl'. Also in the mix is Alike's best friend, Laura, who enjoys hanging out at 'rough' Lesbian clubs but eventually decides to get her GED. While Alike still enjoys a bond with one parent, Laura is not on speaking terms with her mother, who shows no interest when Laura rings her doorbell and informs her that she's passed her GED.

Eventually, Alike's Mom introduces her to Bina, the daughter of one of her colleagues at work (strikingly played by Aasha Davis). The Mom finds Bina much more acceptable since she comes from a more upper class environment than what she regards as the lower class world Laura comes from. Bina invites Alike over to her house and makes it clear that she's interested in having an intimate encounter. At first Alike admits the proposition makes her uncomfortable but on a 'second date', the proposed tryst is consummated. The twist is that Bina is merely bi-curious and Alike is sorely disappointed that she won't be having an extended relationship with her for the foreseeable future. Alike's reaction is predictable: a full-scale meltdown where she trashes her own room.

'Pariah' concludes also on a predictable note. Alike's Mom again chastises her for disappearing and then the parents argue over the mother's suspicion that the father has been having an affair. Alike declares her independence when she reveals to her father that she's been accepted into a creative writing program and asks his permission to sign papers so she can leave home.

I suspect that deep down, 'Pariah' has garnered so many accolades not because it's a great film, but precisely because critics wish to encourage the film's creator, Ms. Rees, who apparently has much more talent as a director than a screenwriter. In terms of the writing, perhaps Ms. Rees' strongest suit is dialogue, which has a realistic, gritty feel to it. I also liked her choice of alternative rock for the soundtrack, instead of loud, rap music, which is the type of music one would expect to find in a drama of this kind.

'Pariah' is a well-crafted first feature effort. You'll find very good acting here and a story that will pretty much hold your interest to the end. Nonetheless, I didn't find myself invested enough in the protagonist's journey to end up raving about the film as so many others have done. By film's end, with Alike's decision to branch off on her own, my reaction was, "okay, that's nice!" In essence, the filmmaker is saying that those who have been ostracized in society need to go forward in spite of all the criticism. But most young people must go through obstacles in order to achieve independence. Were Alike's difficulties in 'coming of age', that much different than other teenagers? Not really. Hence, I didn't feel I was watching something so 'different' or 'out of the ordinary'. It's up to Ms. Rees to next take on a project that goes beyond the world that she knows so well about and is comfortable with.

In public, seventeen-year-old Alike, or Lee (Adepero Oduye), dresses in boys' jackets, baggy pants, and sports shoes. Her hair is short on its own, but she makes it even shorter by tying it back into a bun, and she hides it all under a baseball cap. She's not trying to pass herself off as a boy – she's just trying to wear what makes her most comfortable. But during bus rides home, she will take off the cap, let down her hair, remove the jacket, and reveal a form-fitting white shirt with a jeweled butterfly printed on it. She will even put earrings on. She will stop short, however, of putting on makeup. She makes herself look just feminine enough without becoming too girly. This is to sate her mother, Audrey (Kim Wayans), who doesn't approve of her tomboy looks and always tries to buy her more overtly female clothing.

Lee is, of course, going through the process of accepting herself as a lesbian. She has yet to come out to her family. She has every reason to be hesitant, especially when it comes to her mother, who's so determined to keep up appearances that she will try to make her daughter into something she's not. She gets along better with her father, a cop named Arthur (Charles Parnell); at least they can play basketball together. But there's still a great deal of tension between them. He wants a daddy's girl, and he refuses to see his daughter's tomboy lifestyle as anything other than a phase. It doesn't help that he's quietly menacing, emotionally walled off, and apparently not in love with his wife. How he got this chip on his shoulder, no one really knows. It's strongly suggested, though, that he doesn't appreciate having to work extra to accommodate Audrey's excessive spending.

One of the greatest strengths of "Pariah," director Dee Rees' feature-length expansion of her own 2007 short film, is that its themes are universal. Despite what appearances suggest, it's not about homosexuality; it's about identity and the dangers of forbidden love. This can take on so many forms – cultural taboos, generation gaps, religious intolerance, personality quirks, physical deformity – and still amount to the same thing. Appreciating this movie does not require that you be gay or even tolerant of gay people. All that's required of you is an understanding of how it feels to be different in some way. Have you ever been made fun of for a funny name, or an unusual hairstyle, or a unique style of dress? Has your family ever disapproved of your life decisions, like becoming an actor when they wanted you to become a doctor? Have you ever formed a friendship with someone disapproved of by others? If you can relate to any of this, or to any other circumstances I didn't mention, this movie will speak to you.

Lee's best friend is an open lesbian named Laura (Pernell Walker), who lives with her sister and is trying to earn her GED. She often brings Lee to an all-female strip club and actively tries to hook her up with a girlfriend. Lee's mother doesn't approve of Laura. She would much rather see her be friends with a girl named Bina (Aasha Davis), the daughter of one of her work colleagues. Lee and Bina initially don't hit it off; Lee knows it's only to make each of their mothers happy. But as they spend more time together, it becomes apparent that Bina is hiding forbidden feelings of her own. But is she as willing to embrace her lesbianism? Is she even a lesbian? Sexuality is almost never set in stone, especially when you're still a teenager. Hormones sure do cause a lot of problems.

The film features some of the year's best performances. Of particular note is Oduye, who wisely restrains herself from being too precocious. In just about every scene, she makes Lee seem like a natural teenager – confused about herself, at odds with her family, and desperate to make a connection with someone who understands her. She expresses herself through poetry, which has become her passion. This isn't to say she's an expert. One of my favorite scenes is early on, when she shows her latest work to her writing teacher. The consensus: Lee's writing is competent, but it could be much deeper. I majored in Creative Writing in college, so let me assure you, I've know what Lee felt at that very moment. There's nothing quite like submitting what you believe to be your best work, only for it to be mercilessly criticized by your professors.

I was also impressed by Kim Wayans, whose take on Audrey is convincingly desperate. There's an interesting moment early in the film when, at work, she walks into the lounge area for lunch. Two other women are already in the room. They say nothing, but they take a disapproving look at her before getting up and leaving the room. Why do they dislike her? It's never directly stated, but her actions throughout the film suggest a woman who has alienated herself by being so judgmental. Her head is full of ideals, many of them impossible. It seems her daughter is not the film's only pariah. I always appreciate it when a movie's title applies to more than one character, as it adds depth and complexity. If you can see your way past the superficial aspects, and I sincerely hope that you can, you will find that "Pariah" is a powerful, compelling film.

-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

This movie was a breath of fresh air. It hasn't been released yet but I got see it today and I'm going to pimp it to death until it's released.

Finally, a movie about LGTB youth of color. Finally, a movie that shows the afro-punk and underground black rock culture. Finally, a movie about how difficult it is to come out in a homophobic Christian black home. This movie was powerful, the characters were complex, no one was a walking stereotype, and it managed to balance angst with humor. Now how to summarize it without giving too much away....

Well, basically, it's about a black girl named Alike, who is going through an gender and sexual identity transformation. She's trying to please everyone, being as 'girl-like' as possible for her mother, and being as boyish as she can for the ladies she wants to attract (or is it for herself? That's not really clear). Either way, it's not working out too well; people are starting to catch on that she may be gay. So when a new gay bar opens up in town, the real trouble starts. She starts sneaking out to with a very butch and out-of-the-closet friend, and becoming more curious about exploring all of the facets of her identity. Her mother is basically a fundamentalist Christian, while her father is a agnostic cop. It starts to get complicated when her mother tries to force her to be more 'lady like' and make arrangements for her to hang out with a fellow church friend's 'respectable' daughter. It doesn't quite work out like the mom planned, and it doesn't work out like Alike expected it to either.

What's cool about this movie is that it shows how cultural and religious expectations intersect in a way to marginalize people in their own communities. It also shows how people can try to hold onto things so tightly that they end up breaking the very thing they're afraid of losing, or driving it away completely. The acting was really fantastic, the dialog was very realistically funny and uncomfortable at times, and the music was perfect. I also really liked how they used alternative music to show a different side of black culture that you rarely see in mainstream media. In some ways I think it was symbolic of the film's message about liberation and taking a different path. I won't give away the ending but we walked away from this one feeling uplifted. Two enthusiastic thumbs up.