Disgusted, Audrey viciously attacks Alike while Arthur tries to restrain her. With that out of the way, there is so much good to talk about. Rees has built a successful career. What are some of your favorite coming-of-age movies? ... Audrey, Alike's mother, introduces her to Bina, a daughter of a co-worker in hopes that Alike will stop spending time with Laura. How do I find a date? Arthur comes to meet with Alike, apologizes for Audrey's actions and requests that Alike come back home, offering half-hearted assurance that if she does, "things will be different". Instead I watched films, and one day someone suggested I check out Rees’ Pariah. I worked nights, gave up on a social life, and didn’t have time to process those questions or get close to any answers. The natural light dictating time of day is just as electrifyingly beautiful as the neon party lights and soft bedroom lamp beams. 6 – 1980-2000: Handover & Second Wave, The History of Hong Kong Action Pt. It tells the story of Alike, a 17-year-old African American embracing her identity as a lesbian. From our vantage point, peering in through the crack of the stall door, Alike is compressed, restricted to the tight and narrow confines of our limited perspective. A world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the contemporary drama Pariah is the feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2007 short film Pariah.Spike Lee is among the feature’s executive producers. Alike is a 17-year-old African-American girl who hangs out at clubs with her openly lesbian friend Laura. Sasha has written for Roger Ebert's website, The Worcester Journal,…. The only initial impression I got was from the poster photo of a teenage African American girl looking at her reflection in a bus window, so I assumed some introspective themes about identity were a given—but aside from that, almost everything about this movie surprised me.

She is an A student, being raised by Arthur (Charles Parnell), an affectionate policeman, and Audrey (Kim Wayans), a churchgoing mother. This exhibit was created by a USU student. She lives in a condition familiar to many families, where something has long been sensed but never acknowledged. She followed Pariah with the HBO original film Bessie, starring Queen Latifah; Mudbound, her third feature, picked up four Oscar nominations, including for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Alike begins to develop feelings for Bina, and starts spending more time with her than with Laura, much to Laura's annoyance.

I did some research, discovered what it was about, and knew this was something I needed to see. Despite her sister Sharonda's protests, Alike decides to intervene in the fight and she comes out to her parents. Alike (pronounced a-LIE-kah) is played by Adepero Oduye, in a performance so natural and touching that she does what every director hopes for, she brings the character into being without the need of explanatory dialogue or obligatory set-up scenes. Arthur, a police officer, is in denial of his daughter’s blooming sexual preferences but clearly close with her, defending her when other men suggest she’s a lesbian and thus coming across like a good guy to us at times.

It premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Excellence in Cinematography Award. The less femme Alike presents herself, the more terrified Audrey becomes of losing Arthur, for lack of a picture-perfect family to come home to at the end of the day. Her mother knows the story on Laura and wants Alike to stop seeing her. Harboring growing suspicions about Alike's sexuality, Audrey forces her to wear feminine clothing and tries to stem any influence from Laura by pushing Alike to instead make friends with Bina, a young girl from her church. Rees has built a successful career. She describes unorthodox rehearsal strategies, like arranging dinners and social games for the actors to participate in while in character, having everyone imagine and live the history of their role before they were in front of any cameras. High Powered: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson on Synchronic, Highlights from Ebert Symposium on Future of Movie Industry, Ebert Symposium 2020: Part 2 Streaming Today, October 22nd, 2020, Everlasting Arms: The Sustained Power of The Night of the Hunter. It’s a family drama and a high school drama, a love story and coming-of-age tale, an achievement in cinematic storytelling and a work of art. Alike is at first hesitant, having had no prior experience with physical intimacy. The lighting, yes, the colors, absolutely, the soundtrack – almost entirely African American female rock and roll – all the technical excellence of Pariah deserves individual attention. Ironic: Laura has never made a pass at Alike, but Bina wants to cuddle and kiss, and Alike at last acts on her sexual feelings. Unlike Alike, my family didn’t have issues with my coming out. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend.

A Comcast Company. Sign up to get our cinematic goodness delivered to your inbox every weekend. Audrey, Arthur, Laura, Bina (Aasha Davis), Alike’s first real romantic interest, and even Alike’s little sister, Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) get dimension. Words take on more than one shading. It’s hard to imagine that Jenkins wasn’t influenced by Rees’ groundbreaking piece, continued from her college thesis project, when he developed his own semi-autobiographical coming-of-age and coming out story. I did some research, discovered what it was about, and knew this was something I needed to see. Arthur, Sharonda and Laura see Alike off on her journey west and the film ends with Alike reading a poem she wrote; its theme echoes her words to her father that she is not running, but choosing. [0] => ENGL 4360 Spring 2017 Copyright ©  2018 Fandango. Her only further interest in Alike seems to be her concern that Alike not tell anyone else about the two of them. When she’s finally on the bus, glaring out of the window with a look of satisfaction, we hear the line “I am not running, I’m choosing.” It hits close to home. Would I have to fight for acceptance within it?

With Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis, Pernell Walker. Although initially disinterested in one another, they eventually bond over a shared love of music, specifically underground hip hop, and they quickly form a close friendship. Audrey is desperate for Arthur’s attention, demanding her daughters sit up straight on his night off, doting on him generally and pretending to be asleep on the couch in an effort to get some time alone with him when he finally comes home at three in the morning. She has a flair for poetry, and is a good student at her local high school. 4 – 1960-1980: New Wave, How to Analyse Movies #8: Putting It Into Practice, How to Analyse Movies #7: Iconography & Realisticness, How to Analyse Movies #5: Lighting, Sound & Score, MPAA, Studios Fund 12-Step Programs For Women Directors (PARODY), Weinstein Scandal Should Affect The Outcome Of The EEOC Hollywood Probe (THR Guest Column), The EEOC Gender Probe: I Don’t Regret Starting the Fight, Women Directors & The Farce of Networking Programs, THE UNDOING Miniseries: A Gripping But Soapy Domestic Nightmare, FARGO Season 4: Thematically Ambitious But So All Over The Place, THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR: A Spooky & Heart-Aching Gothic Romance, BILLIONS (S5E7) “The Limitless Sh*t”: This Is Scarface Drug, Not Limitless, BILLIONS (S5E6) “The Nordic Model”: An Old School Pissing Contest, BILLIONS (S5E5) “Contract”: The Sins Of The Fathers, KILLING EVE (S3E8) “Are You Leading Or Am I?”: Dancing To The Same Old Tune, DEFINITION PLEASE: A Layered Depiction of Family, Freedom and Mental Illness, TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME: Important Prequel To The Twin Peaks Universe.

The film is a feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2007 short film Pariah. The film is an impressive debut for writer-director Dee Rees. While Alike's clothing takes on more neutral tones of black, grey, and maroon, Bina is dressed in bright, heavily saturated jewel and neon tones that would suggest a more traditonal, heteronormative gender performance. Copyright © 2020 USU Digital Exhibits They go to a nearby lesbian club, which Alike visits with sweet shyness, making wardrobe adjustments between home and destination so she can pass in two roles.

On a low budget, she takes advantage of the vibrant photography of Bradford Young, who also shot the original short subject. When the film was released, it didn’t receive the notoriety it deserves. "Pariah" is probably too loaded a … Bina (Aasha Davis) further blurs the line in her friendship with Alike (Adepero Oduye) In an effort to force her daughter into friendships with women she sees as straight and cisgender, Audrey (Kim Wayans) forces Alike (Adepero Oduye) to spend time with Bina (Aasha Davis), a young woman from her … Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award.

Instead I watched films, and one day someone suggested I check out Rees’. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award. Audrey then tries to forget that anything happened, which annoys the rest of her family. It’s a movie that speaks to a demographic that rarely interests Hollywood studios – Black queer women and non-binary people. Alike and I have the same skin complexion, are of the same sexual orientation, we grew up in similar environments, and we made the bold choice to leave because it was the best choice for us and no one else. Laura studies for her GED while living with her sister in the aftermath of a falling out with their mother; Bina is overtly feminine and flirty with Alike and a bit more shy when we catch a glimpse of her hanging out with a guy, perhaps conflicted over whether she is “gay gay” despite her verbal denial of that identity; Sharonda is what little sisters are – close annoyances who know us well and don’t often discuss. I would go so far as to say it paved the way for films like Moonlight, Night Comes On, and Rafiki.

Technically, Pariah passes with flying colors, and when it comes to the strength of Rees’ writing and character development, the grade is the same. These aren’t things I felt comfortable asking someone; I needed to experience it for myself. We are republishing this piece on the homepage in allegiance with a critical American movement that upholds Black voices. In a pivotal scene where Alike and Bina are expressing their distaste for the situation they are put in by their mothers, the color differences between their wardrobes are almost obnoxious. Tired of the drama, Alike leaves home early for college to start life anew. Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. Rees’ shots are beautifully composed; one of the most striking comes when we watch Alike change in the bathroom at school from her girly mom-bought outfit to her preferred looser style. Saying she is going through a phase, he is supportive of her, although he cautions her on steering clear of the area where there is a lesbian bar, saying it's not safe. [1] => no-show At home, her parents’ marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion. (Photo by Focus Features/ Everett Collection) The movie changed my life and my perspective on what it means to be happy with everything I am. Binaries are big in this world – you either are something or you aren’t, you’re with someone or you’re not, you love someone or you don’t. , her third feature, picked up four Oscar nominations, including for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Scott wrote that to watch Adepero Oduye play Alike "is to experience the thrill of discovery." Pariah (2011) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Pulsing with authenticity and led by a stirring lead performance from Adepero Oduye, Pariah is a powerful coming out/coming-of-age film that signals the arrival of a fresh new talent in writer/director Dee Rees.

Most notable about Sharonda’s character was how comfortably she engaged her family in joking (though it probably wasn’t a joke to her) about having sex on prom night. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. The cinematography is wonderfully, alternating warm and alienating when it needs to be. Alike has a better relationship with her father Arthur, who is a police detective.