Pariah (2011)

 

Rating: R

Written and Directed by Dee Rees

Cinematography by Bradford Young

Produced by Nekisa Cooper

Starring

Alike by Adepero Oduye

Laura by Pernell Walker

Bina by Aasha Davis

Arthur by Charles Parnell

Sharonda by Sahra Mellesse

Audrey by Kim Wayans

"Pariah" means "an outcast". The film is about a black, 17 year-old girl named Alike and tells the story of her hard time coming out, her closet lovers and rejection by her religious mother. Set in modern-day New York City, Pariah is an eye opener in terms of progress towards equality and acceptance of the LGBT community.

Pariah tackles lots of issues surrounding today's LGBT youth (S)

In many ways the storyline is similar to – but not completely the same as – that of Prayers for Bobby’s. The main difference is (apart from it being about a black lesbian instead of a white gay) it’s set in modern-day New York and it has a different ending. Prayers for Bobby – although stories such as Bobby’s still exist today – was set in the 1970s, yet Pariah shows the same situation in today’s society. It’s a reminder that in the fight for equality and acceptance of LGBT people, despite the major advances we’ve made as a nation since the 70s, we still have a long way to go as a society.

Alike is from a Nigerian family. Nigeria is known to be the most strongly Catholic country in the world and needless to say, homosexuality is totally rejected. Alike’s mother, Bina, represents this mentality.

I actually preferred it to Prayers for Bobby in a lot of ways. For a start, Prayers for Bobby looks like it’s spreading a message of “it gets worse” compared to Pariah. In Prayers for Bobby, Bobby commits suicide and feels there’s no way out of the “sinful life” he’s leading, whereas in Pariah, Alike knows what her mother thinks, but doesn’t let it drive her to suicide and works everything out the best she can.

Secondly, there is no comparison when it comes to cinematography and camerawork. Prayers for Bobby was a TV-film for the Lifetime Network made just one year before Pariah and obviously had a lower budget, whereas Pariah was a proper film and won the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 where it premiered that year. It's beautifully filmed with a lot of shots using macro to blur out the background. This, in a way, can be compared to the way Alike is thinking. The only thing on her mind is her coming out and it leaves her in her own little bubble, partly oblivious to the world around her.

Alike's teacher helps her with her poetry, but it comes from the heart
of a struggling LGBT teen

The script is one of the best I've come across in LGBT cinema to date, leagues better than that of Shelter. Not only do the characters look and sound comfortable with what they're saying, poetry also plays a large part in Alike's life. The poetry used in the film is wonderfully composed and uses metaphors which really capture the essence of the coming out of a struggling LGBT teen. I could really identify with this film as someone who is currently going through the process of coming out to their family and friends. Where Prayers For Bobby made me cry and want to make a change in the world, Pariah gave me hope and motivated me to spread the message that it gets better in the end, if you want it to.

Alike is so pro-active and stays so strong in the face of so much adversity which makes her a role-model for many struggling LGBT teenagers all around the world, of any ethnicity, any religion, any nationality. The acting from Adepero Oduye really puts us in Alike's shoes and we really share her emotions. By the end of the film we feel all the emotions she feels.

My rating:

9/10

Overall, I give Pariah 9/10 for all the reasons mentioned above. It's a truly inspirational film which somehow manages to be heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time. I truly highly recommend Pariah to everyone; straight, gay, bi, whatever.

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