PARIAH – The Review

PARIAH joins a long line of coming of age dramas set in New York ( in this case Brooklyn ). It deals with a young African-American woman about to finish high school and explore the world. Unlike many of these films, this protagonist is concealing her sexuality from her family and many friends. The title refers to the reaction many have gotten when they’ve come out. They’re treated as pariahs-outcast and ostracized. Writer/ director Dee Rees tells this story with great sensitivity and avoids exploitation and stereotyping.

The film follows Alike ( Adepero Oduye ) during her last few months of high school. She lives with her religious mother Audry ( Kim Wayans ), usually absent policeman father Arthur ( Charles Parnell ) and bratty, spying kid sister Sharonda ( Sahra Mellesse ). Alike is a quiet student who excels in her writing class. After school she meets up with her best pal, the hard-working, living on her own Laura  ( Pernell Walker ) and the two cruise the local underground lesbian bars and dance clubs. Laura tries to encourage the shy Alike to be more outgoing. Before the bus ride back to her family , Alike changes back into the more feminine wardrobe that her mother has given her and tries to sneak back into her bedroom. Audry suspects something, but can’t get the attention of her distracted husband. The marriage seems to be on very shaky ground. In trying to distance her from Laura, Audry encourages Alike to hang out with the daughter of church friend. Alike doesn’t have anything in common with Bina ( Aasha Davis ), but soon the women bond over music which leads to more serious shared feelings. Can she tell this to her parents without losing them, like her pal Laura did? It’s a very complicated senior year for Alike.

Dee Rees directs the drama with a steady hand and gets terrific performances from this mostly unknown cast. Oduye lights up the screen as she blossoms into a strong, young woman reeling from her first true love, but still concerned about having her secret life exposed. Walker shows the tender hurt little girl inside the tough-talking Laura. She tries to be supportive to Alike while still stinging from her family’s rejection ( a visit to her Mom is truly heartbreaking ). The big surprise her is Wayans. I didn’t realize she was Audry until the end credits rolled. After seeing her in many TV comedies over the years I was taken aback by her strong dramatic work as the uptight, sad matriarch. The location work is exceptional and the film moves at good pace. The tender intimate scenes are offset with the violent confrontations against the gay community. The final scenes may be a bit too pretentious ( flying metaphors abound ), but PARIAH is sweet drama that presents a different viewpoint of growing up today.

Overall Rating: Three and a Half Out of Five Stars