As if high school years weren't difficult without any extra baggage, Alike (Adepero Oduye) is trying to deal with her growing knowledge that she is a lesbian. That's the premise of "Pariah," the well-made little film that is Dee Rees' debut as a writer and director. The taut movie opens today.
Oduye, who was born in Nigeria but grew up in Brooklyn, seems just right in the part. She's confused, unsure of herself and her feelings, uncomfortable with friends and family. Her parents, played by Charles Parnell and Kim Wayans, are no better off than she is and the family is in turmoil. They are no more comfortable with the situation than their daughter.
When Alike tries an evening at a gay/lesbian club in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood, where she lives, that does not work out either, and an attempted relationship with a friend, Laura (Perrnell Walker), doesn't make either of them particularly happy.
Rees, who says the movie reflects some of the difficulties of her own life, writes with a good touch. She obviously understands the problems of her characters, and her direction is warm and in good touch with young people on the edge, the way Alike is. A sensitive story that works well with difficult subject matter.
Pariah opens today at the Tivoli
— Joe