Pária

Pariah (2011)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

A 17-year-old Brooklyn teenager (Adepero Oduye) must try and deal with her changing sexual feelings as well as deal with her parents (Charles Parnell, Kim Wayans) who can't fully see that she's beginning to have lesbian feelings for another local teen. I'm sure PARIAH was someone inspired by PRECIOUS, another film dealing with a black teen trying to come to terms with their own lifestyle as well as the troubled relationship with a parent. This film here comes from director Dee Rees and she does an incredibly strong job bringing it to the screen. While the film isn't quite as powerful as PRECIOUS there's no question that it's extremely raw and almost feels like a documentary because of how fresh and frank it is. I thought a lot of the success falls into the lap of Oduye who does a remarkable job as the teenager. Again, she doesn't come off as a professional actress but instead she just comes across so real. The frankness of her situation is perfectly handled by the actress and I really thought she did a great job at showing the troubled feelings of this character. Wayans is also very powerful as the mother who wants her daughter to be "good" or whatever good is to her eyes. Parnell easily steals the film as the father in a very memorable role and performance. At just 84-minutes the film doesn't overstay its welcome and for the most part it never comes off the tracks. It's not a pretty film to watch as I'm sure the subject matter will turn some off but those who decide to watch it will be rewarded with some great performances and direction.

There are three things, Dee Rees told the audience of the 2011 Out In Africa South African Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, that they shouldn't say in a pitch: "black", "lesbian" and "coming of age"; a true but problematic piece of advice. To suggest that a film about a young girl coming out is not just a gay film is equally awkward as it implies that the label is a negative one, which is only true if instant box-office and mass-appeal is an absolute priority. It's just that, in one way or another, the message should be conveyed that Rees's debut feature Pariah is a film about the essence of being.

Alike (Adepero Oduye) is a teenage Brooklyn girl who is struggling to live up to her mother's expectations while trying to figure out who she is. Certain about her sexual orientation, she's insecure about where she fits in as a young lesbian woman and a budding writer in search of her authentic voice. While the local gay club is offering some respite, she finds it difficult to identify both with the studs who throw money at strippers, and the femmes waiting to be picked up by the likes of her close friend Laura (Pernell Walker). And caught up between a controlling, disappointed and worried mother (Kim Wayans) and a disillusioned, tired and caring father (Charles Parnell), Alike, just like her parents and sister (Sahra Mellesse), is stuck in a suffocating web of lies that is keeping the fragile family unit from imploding, while preventing the family members from becoming all that they could be.

Dee Rees and her phenomenal cast don't shy away from complexity and contradiction. Too courageous and curious to surrender to stereotyping, and in possession of the sensibility and wisdom required to capture not just the extraordinary, Rees relies on nuance and small gestures to convey the fears of Alike's father, the archetypal man who is as gentle, loving and sensitive as he is dominating, as well as the qualms of her mother, who with piercing eyes and a sharp tongue observes and comments on Alike's journey.

"Who I am will always be part of my work." says Dee Rees, who hopes that one day her sexual orientation will be the premise of her stories, rather than the story. Pariah relates to blackness exactly like that; as a premise and not a defining condition and problem to be overcome, which is far from the only reason why Pariah is such an engaging and unique piece of well-written, well-directed and well-acted storytelling. One that speaks to anyone aspiring to or dreaming of reaching their full potential as human beings.

This and other movie reviews to be found on the blog "In the Words of Katarina"

This is a tough little movie. Admittedly, a lot of people will be put off by the subject matter. They may not have even chosen to watch it, like I almost did, because of the synopsis which calls this a film about a "teenager's desperate search for sexual expression". My first thought was, "haven't we seen this a million times before." But I gave it a chance and I'm quite glad that I did.

At the beginning of the film, I thought I might have made a mistake. The opening sequence of the movie, and especially the lyrics of the song that is playing, reminded me of those movies made for teenage boys that begin with some sex scene to get them to pay attention to the rest of the film. Had I directed it, I would have lured the viewer in more carefully. However, maybe the director wanted to confront the viewer up front. I think this, combined with the synopsis, was simply bad marketing.

Anyway, if you hang in there and stay with it, the film pays off in the end. This is not a film about lesbianism or the trials of urban black families. This is a film about everyone. It is a film about being different from those around you. It just happens that this difference is lesbianism and this setting is a black community. Two distinct aspects of individualism are focused on here. The first is on that which makes each person unique, while the second is on that which keeps each person self-absorbed. Everyone in this film wants appreciation, understanding, and attention, yet, they are unable to see these needs in others.

The acting is superb. I could find no shortcomings in any of the actors. The relationships were believable, the characters, sympathetic, the storyline, strong. So, overlook the synopsis and the opening scenes and you will not be disappointed in this film. You may even wonder why it didn't receive more awards than it did.

Perhaps Pariah occupies a title that is a bit too heavy for its subject matter. The film around a seventeen year old girl, black and lesbian in an urban neighborhood, that is trying to come of age in a time where she is placed into the rare category of being "a minority within a minority." She has some friends, a distant relationship with her parents (not uncommon in teens), and, at the end, her future still has rays of light peaking through the gloom. I have hope for her, and believe that labeling her as a "pariah" is a bit too harsh.

The seventeen year old is named Alike (A-lie-kah, played by Adepero Oduye). Her parents are the heavily-Christian Audrey (Wayans) and the workaholic Arthur (Parnell). Alike usually spends her nights at seamy nightclubs, with her friends and a trusty fake ID. She finds it harder and harder to keep her desires and orientation concealed from her family, and, like most girls around that age, resorts to peer discussions which serve as her motivation.

Let's stop right there; it takes no expert to realize that this is a cliché premise. I understand that. What do I say about cliché premises? When taken with enough heart, seriousness, and personality, they can be involving pictures all the same. Pariah gets involved with a number of different areas in film, that usually go untouched in a coming of age picture.

For one, atmosphere is put to great use here. This is a story of urban alienation, depicting homosexuality in areas where we don't often see it. I was reminded of Scorsese's Taxi Driver while watching a lot of Pariah. Atmospheres are brightly colored and vividly shot. Lots of shots bleed with color, and a lot of silence is punctuated by inviting background music, sometimes cut with boombox hip-hop. Both stories depict lonely protagonists, hungering for acceptance in society, but are continuously left lost, wandering in the sea of despair.

Movies like Pariah are wonderful because they showcase new talents in a familiar world. Another fantastic debut this year was Josh Trank's Chronicle, which had a creative premise, determined actors, and a slick script that lacked in cheap exploitation and gimmicks. Pariah was originally a twenty-eight minute short film, created by director Dee Rees, and in just a few years, has expanded the idea into a fantastic film. Spike Lee serves as one of the executive producers, and in many ways, from the gritty writing to the unsettling atmosphere (just like in Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X) it mirrors a film he could've made.

Not to mention, aside from the film's behind the scenes work, it is also a beauty performance-wise. Adepero Oduye is forced to carry a grand weight of the film on her back, and accepts the challenge almost effortlessly, and Kim Wayans as the blatantly harsh mother, holding back fits of rage and attitude is also a well unsung role. Pariah's story is a great one, depicting homosexuality in places we don't think about, another fascinating story of urban alienation, and showcasing extremely well-cast actors performing beautifully written material. If it keeps up, Dee Rees could become the female Spike Lee.

Starring: Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, and Aasha Davis. Directed by: Dee Rees.

Newcomer Adepero Oduye plays Alike (Le for short), a seventeen-year old high-schooler living in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood. She's smart and creative, much to the approval of her parents; but to their dismay, unbeknownst to them (or due to their unwillingness to accept and/or approve), she's also a lesbian with a masculine persona, or simply a Pariah.

Alike lives with her much more girly sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) and parents. Kim Wayans, best down for her broad comic characterizations from the 1990's In Living Color, shows off her dramatic chops as Alike's mother Audrey, a Christian-valued matriarch who doesn't have so much an agenda, but an affliction. She wants the best for her daughters, but her religious subscription limits her ability to love her eldest daughter completely. Unlike most black men in films about black women, Alike's father Arthur (a stalwart, yet relaxed Charles Parnell) doesn't always have his daughter's (or wife's) best intentions in mind, but he's neither shiftless, emasculated, physically abusive or non-existent as is every man in The Color Purple and the like.

In an ironic twist, Audrey introduces Alike to the daughter of a coworker, in hopes of steering her away from the butch influence of her best friend Laura (a cool, thoughtful Pernell Walker). Though her time with Bina (Aasha Davis) assumes a predictable route, it doesn't end as one might expect. To boot, the magnetic personalities of the characters are sufficient enough to make the trip worth it. As well, their shared love of alternative music provides one of the best film soundtracks in quite some time.

In the film's social environment, women who dress as men and love other women are considered pariahs. Feminine lesbians don't fare much better, but they, as well as others, view themselves as bisexuals who are going through a phase. They are not a threat, because of their non-confrontational gender qualities and the belief is that they'll eventually assume a more traditional place in society. It's one of the many conundrums that test Alike and help her become a stronger and better person, as well as writer.

The inevitable confrontation scene between Alike and her folks arrives unannounced without much of a consistent buildup. Yet, steering away from cheap sentimentality, it also avoids any hints of condensation. There are no martyrs or villains, only fully rounded characters.

It's difficult not to compare Pariah to the recent Precious, as there are so few films made about African-American women. Lee Daniel's popular directorial effort was dark, gritty and pulled no punches. And while it over-indulged in a broad range of emotions, it saved face with its sharp social commentary. However, along with the newly released The Help, one had to wonder if the best the marketplace had to offer in intelligent fare about black women is located at the lower rungs of society. It's not that those films are unacceptable and not to be appreciated, but the ghettoization gets to be monotonous.

That being said, Pariah's setting doesn't necessarily break the cycle, but it's a fine example of compelling storytelling. Directer Dee Rees is an exciting new filmmaker with great promise. Moving beyond her personalized debut, I stand in anticipation of where she will go from here.