A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233334/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pariah_2011/
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MIKE -
Early in Dee Rees' Pariah (2011), the protagonist's mother tells her, "It's your skin." Alike, the seventeen year old gay female at the center of Pariah's maelstrom of anxiety and discontent, spends the rest of the film trying to claim what is rightfully hers--her mind, her body, her 'choice'--as she alludes to through the poem that she reads at the close of the movie (though advocates of gay rights would benefit from seeing Alike's choice lyrical stanzas as something personal and not a synecdoche for the gay/bi/transgendered movement on the whole). Pariah could easily be a pretty typical protest film; instead the film focuses on how a youth can feel ostracized not just from their family and from the world at large, but how they can feel exiled from their own community; detached from the very support system that gave them confidence to 'be themselves,' and not fake it. Dee Rees' film becomes a movie about alienation--a message movie that should be able to appeal to people all across the sexual spectrum because everyone has known separation and what it is to be alone, however brief. The film benefits from using unknown actors who can assimilate into the film's background (Fort Greene, Brooklyn) without drawing attention to themselves. Adeperu Oduyo (Alike), Charles Parnell, and Kim Wayans (who play Alike's father and mother respectively) deserve particular praise for portraying a family on the brink of dissemination; whose 'problems' transcend traditional (conservative) African-American society's unwillingness to accept the gay lifestyle as part of their family's fabric--this can be seen in a particularly touching scene where Alike's friend Laura tries unsuccessfully to re-connect with her mother. The subject matter, which is, at its heart of hearts very difficult, is shown with much sensitivity and lacks the kind of dramatic whims that could and has sunk movies that delve into this kind of material. Maybe the background of the screen-writer/director comes into play here: Dee Rees is a black Lesbian who grew up in a community that could not accept her identity as something tangible. Mentored by Spike Lee, she has brought a very personal story (whose subject matter, influenced through its 'creator,' cannot help but feel part-and-parcel; of the same flesh as the living, breathing person who imagined it), out into the light and has done it with a kind of natural ease--as I said earlier, lacking the dramatic flare that could have made her effort more uneven. The camera stays closed in on the story's subjects--even when they want to look away, there is no way they can escape their isolation, their frustration, their brief moments of tender connection. Pariah's camera-work is saturated with bright and dark colors and is always zoomed-in, always forcing us to focus on emotions and situations of self discovery and self mastication, but again, all with sensitivity. Alike's sometimes awkward will to fit in, her taste of first love, and first heartbreak--shortly following--add further layers that a general audience can relate to, that keep the story's varied elements in rotation and doesn't push in to make this movie which was made from protest material, origins, about any one central conflict besides maybe alienation. Otherwise, Pariah is simply a window into the trajectory of a gay youth's life. She has already discovered and come to accept herself before the film begins--she has already acted. Pariah then, shows us the reaction.
Pariah (2011)
Camera ***
Editing ***
Writing ****
Acting ****
Production ***
17/25 (Good)
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Scott-
Pariah (2011) Rating: 8.0
Pariah is a film that manages to hit on everything that I love about independent film making. Unknown actors (Charles Parnell, who played Alike's father, particularly stuck out to me), a mostly diegetic score (though there are brief moments of non-diegetic music), realistic (and many times uncomfortable) dialogue, hand-held camera work, etc. The story too was well written and allowed for enough character development to show growth within the short time frame that the film documents but without making the characters seem too spontaneous or unrealistically forgiving.
Yet despite all that the film has going for it, I didn't feel grabbed by it in the same way that I have by other films of the same genre. At times it almost feels stale seeming to play too close to the independent film playbook, and in the end didn't seem to show me anything new that I hadn't seen in other films of the same style.
All said Pariah is still a very respectable first (fictional) film for Dee Rees.
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Mick-
MICK WARD
Pariah
I found Pariah to be slightly uninteresting up until the
anticipated, highly predictable love spark between Pariah and the girl her
mother forced her to accompany on her walk to school. The film takes place in
Brooklyn, New York, but the characters seem to represent the lifestyle, trials
and tribulations of Christian middle-class life, and their expectations of what
a ‘normal’ family should be. The father works too much, there is the allusion
that he might be unfaithful (in the sexual sense), the mother is subservient,
and unappreciated by the father, she is overprotective of her daughters, the
daughters are well-dressed and studious students. However, the seventeen-year
old Pariah is staying out late, mixing with the ‘wrong’ crowd, and betraying
her assigned gender role and traditional dress.
The story is predictable: Pariah’s mother attempts to ‘protect’
her from bad influences, but inadvertently pushes her into the arms of a
curious peer who “wants to do her thing”. Of course, she leaves behind her best
friend who appeared to be in love with her, but the heartbreak she experiences
when her curious peer denies her a relationship allows her to grow. This
heartbreak, however, helps to sets up the climatic showdown between the
daughter and mother. The exchange between Pariah and her mother was expected,
but still a bit shocking. This sort of exchange, although with some variation,
is probably not all that uncommon (I know of at least one example). What I
liked most about the film was the final conversation between the father and
Pariah when she explains to him that she needs him to sign paper work so she
can go off to college early. She makes it clear that she is not running, but choosing. Although I enjoyed the film over all especially this final exchange and
the commentary on dress (see the scene where Pariah is getting ready to go to
church and the more subtle cloths change before and after school) I would argue
that the film caters to a specific demographic making it less interesting. For
example, the relationship between Pariah and her mother are nonexistent at the
close of the film. The relationship between Pariah and her father is open and
presumably this is who will finance her trip across the country, the early
start program and the rest of her college stay… 6/10
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MIKE - Sorry to interrupt before Mick has written his take about the film.. But I was thinking about what Scott said about feeling 'grabbed' by certain movies and was wondering if we could get into a conversation--if it's even possible to articulate--what makes us emotionally invested in certain movies, and not others than employ the same mechanics. Scott, you mentioned a 'staleness' in the movie; so maybe that could be elaborated on, though I feel I know what you are talking about.. If this is something worth getting into, I'll pick up off of you and Mick's cues.
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MIKE - Hey Mick: a few thoughts on your post; these are just my opinions.. I'm not sure which path would have been more predictable - if Alike's family accepted her for who she is, or if they 'exiled' her (this might be a stretch - as you pointed out, the schism between her and her mother seems more severe than the one between her and her father). I'm not sure how much this matters though; I take the film to probably be a little bit of an exercise in autobiography and since Dee Rees likely went through some of the things that her protagonist has in the movie, that should add to the air of authenticity. As for the 'catering to a demographic,' I suppose we'll just agree to disagree here: I found the anxiety and alienation in Alike's story poignant, relatable which showcases the talent of the filmmaker because (unless I surprise you all at a later time!) I am not a black, teenage lesbian. I also feel that the scene showing the distance between Laura (Alike's friend) and her mother towards the end of the film is a kind of foreshadowing of what Alike and her mother's relationship will be like; also, if you rewind some of the scenes from Pariah in your head, you might find that Alike's mother was always more standoffish about her sexuality than her father was--this is also present by the close of the film. How do you feel about the mechanics of the film - the acting, dialogue, etc. You've spoken a lot about the film's plot and how this has made you feel, and this is fine of course, but I was wondering if you picked up on any of the film's 'angles,' or if any of them held any importance to you...?
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Scott - I agree with both of you and hearing both of your thoughts has helped me to really put my finger on what my feelings about the film are. What I said in my review "Yet despite all that the film has going for it, I didn't feel grabbed by it in the same way that I have by other films of the same genre." is true but before I had difficulty figuring out why it hadn't grabbed me, mechanically it was good, good acting, good dialogue, etc. I think this is why I am split on it, on one hand I agree with Mike, the film is well done, on the other hand I agree with Mick, the film is filled with cliche's and like I said before felt stale.
The love interest blossoming from the seemingly heterosexual "good" girl was predictable, still that girl using Alike and throwing her aside with no regard of her feelings is something I think happens a lot with young gay females, and I can't recall seeing that aspect on film before. Its a bit of a stereotype maybe but from the women I know that are gay I have heard stories of younger girls who are "bi-curious" using openly gay girls for experimental exploits in youth without caring about their feelings. This and the relationship with the father and the "Cats in the Cradle" themed ending on the roof top were probably the most successful scenes of the film for me.
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MIKE - It is true, this movie is not without formulaic/cliche plot devices.. But then, finding one that is void of these stereotypes or expectations has got to be rare. All stories can be broken down into "character goes on a journey," or "stranger comes to town." With that in mind, and since this story has both original (to some degree) and formulaic plot points, is it even necessary to look at these things while judging this particular film? As Scott mentioned above: considering the mechanical scope of the film and that there is a lot of good work being done 'film-making-wise,' why does it matter that a movie that hits the right notes so often has predictable moments? You could say that it should matter, that complete originality should be strived for when discussing the truly great motion pictures, but I bet that if we were to toss out the names of some of our favorite movies, all of us could (or should) find predictable or 'seen-that-before' scenes here and there. It seems like I'm sticking up a ton for a movie that I only gave a 17/25 (good) rating to, but I feel that some of the things we're pointing out need to be discussed if we're to continue to approach future movies in a like manner.
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Mick
I realize now, embarrassing enough, that I really didn't pay attention to the names of the characters. I apologize and will keep a log next time haha. My comment about the 'middle-class'ness of the film is just to acknowledge that the ability of the film to perhpas represent the gay 'community' is limited by factors like class. Its a reference to some of the criticism raised by people like Bell Hooks, but I did partially overlook the story and situation of Alike's friend whom she goes to the Club with in the beginning. This person, like Alike, has been shunned by her mother, however, unlike Alike, she does not seem to be receiving any sort of financial support from her family. There were some other things that also played a part in my low rating, specifcally plot points that I feel were not adequately explained or hinted to-the relationship between the father and mother was not resolved or dissolved on camera.
Mike, I don't think we are being unreasonable about our emphasis on the cliches and certainly these devices are not all or always bad. I happen to love watching all the Indian Jones, Dirty Harry, and Die Hards, etc Films even though they follow a blatantly obvious formula, but those films are not attempting to accomplish the same task.
I agree with you Mike that I don't think you are a Black female homosexual despite the obvious, substantial, and convincing evidence to the contrary. That notwithstanding, I agree that the film is relatable and captured some of the feeling and experiences I had in my adolescence. The scene where the bi-curious girl is playing music for Alike and then starts to 'play' with Alike's hair or touches her with a stuffed animal or something reminded me of awkward situations where I was trying to 'play' in order to get someones attention. So, I agree that parts of the film were relatable, but I still did not love the film.
Sorry Mike I didn't pay attention to the cinematography or the acting all that much; if it didn't stand out either way, I don't tend to notice it. I'm making notes for things to pay attention to for our next film. What is our next film by the way?
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MIKE - Mick!!! If you had articulated before, what you just said now I might not have been so quick to 'go for the jugular.' These are all points worth pondering on--some of which I'd realized before, others might have passed me by.. I guess I'd just assumed that your take on the predictability of the film (or any cliche parts) alone factored into your 6/10 rating without considering camera work, acting, etc. - some things that you said above you'd keep an eye out for next time. Anyhow, I believe the next pick is Scott's.
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Mick Haha, I didn't feel your knife at my throat so its ok. I'll be a 'better' film crit. next film....Which is????? and when is our next date?
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
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Dammit Scott, answer the man! Hey, if we stick to our colors, no need to start our segments with our names, eh..?
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