Comments on: PARIAH

By: HOME VIDEO PICKS – Hammer to Nail

HOME VIDEO PICKS – Hammer to Nail — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:32:05 +0000

[…] hope will—but don’t expect to—come to terms with your identity. Read Brandon Harris’s full HTN review. Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and at Amazon […]

By: Assunta

Assunta — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:23:00 +0000

One of the greatest strengths of “Pariah,” director Dee Rees’
feature-length expansion of her own 2007 short film, is that its themes
are universal. Despite what appearances suggest, it’s not about
homosexuality; it’s about identity and the dangers of forbidden love.
This can take on so many forms – cultural taboos, generation gaps,
religious intolerance, personality quirks, physical deformity – and
still amount to the same thing. Appreciating this movie does not
require that you be gay or even tolerant of gay people. All that’s
required of you is an understanding of how it feels to be different in
some way. Have you ever been made fun of for a funny name, or an
unusual hairstyle, or a unique style of dress? Has your family ever
disapproved of your life decisions, like becoming an actor when they
wanted you to become a doctor? Have you ever formed a friendship with
someone disapproved of by others? If you can relate to any of this, or
to any other circumstances I didn’t mention, this movie will speak to
you.
http://trimediacentral.com/pariah-2011/

By: THE 2011 HAMMER TO NAIL AWARDS – Hammer to Nail

THE 2011 HAMMER TO NAIL AWARDS – Hammer to Nail — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:35:46 +0000

[…] 12. Pariah (Dee Rees, 15 points/4 mentions) — Dee Rees‘ tough coming of age tale is a study in the ways in which young blacks caught between social worlds are often forced to wear emotional and physical masks. Rees’ film, which suggests that traditional African-American social and cultural mores often don’t make room for young queer women, exhibits a sensitivity to the nuances of class and style among city-dwelling blacks that is truly rare in American cinema. While it falls into the Precious trap, once again having a black mother as the moral fall guy (or gal), it isn’t because of destitution, or drug use, or poverty, or neglect; it’s the far more common affliction of over-protection and ignorance, of a muddled understanding of one’s responsibilities as a Christian woman to love above all else. Aided by her remarkably talented cinematographer Bradford Young, who brought a similar grace to the palette and shooting style of the under-appreciated 2009 Slamdance entry Mississippi Damned (perhaps still the best recent American independent film without theatrical distribution), Rees has made a film that signals the beginning of long, fruitful career for herself and her fantastic young lead Adepero Oduye. (Brandon Harris) Read The Full HTN Review […]