Pariah (2011)

Editor's Note A teenager must choose between the life she wants and the path her parents have picked out for her in this independent coming-of-age drama. At home, 17-year-old Alike (Adepero Oduye) is a sweet and soft-spoken girl who tries to follow the wishes of her straight-laced mother (Kim Wayans). However, there's another side of her that her parents don't know about -- Alike is a lesbian, and with her best friend Laura (Pernell Walker) she slips out to downtown dance clubs where she feels free to be open about her sexuality, though she's still working up the courage to act on her desires. As she becomes more mature, Alike is torn between living the sheltered life her parents want for her, the club-hopping lifestyle Laura has already embraced, or something that lies in between, like her neighbor Bina (Aasha Davis). PARIAH was the first feature film from writer and director Dee Rees, who adapted the story from her award-winning short film of the same name. PARIAH was an official selection at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

	Kim Wayans
	Charles Parnell
	Aasha Davis
	Adepero Oduye
	Pernell Walker
	Sahra Mellesse
	Brad Young - Director of Photography
	Dee Rees - Screenwriter
	Dee Rees - Director

Box Office
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "A potent film and a standout debut..." 09/18/2011

Los Angeles Times
"At its soulful heart, PARIAH is a stinging street-smart story..." 12/28/2011

USA Today
"The coming-out/coming-of-age story is almost a genre of its own, but PARIAH has a fresh and distinctly urban take, anchored by an affable lead performance." 12/30/2011

Movieline
"PARIAH wouldn't work without Oduye's luminous performance, capturing the emotional nuances of a character not prone to letting her emotions show..." 12/28/2011

A.V. Club
"[T]he film has an abiding sweetness that?s ultimately irresistible..." 12/29/2011

New York Times
"At its heart is an incandescent performance by Ms. Oduye, who captures the jagged mood swings of late adolescence with a wonderfully spontaneous fluency." 12/30/2011

Chicago Sun-Times
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[W]hat we're seeing here is the emergence of a promising writer-director, an actor and a cinematographer who are all exciting, and have cared to make a film that seeks helpful truths." 01/04/2012

Wall Street Journal
"[A] remarkable debut feature....[Oduye] gives a performance, first heartbreaking and later thrilling, that swings between the darkness of spiritual isolation and the incandescence of self-discovery..." 01/06/2012

Entertainment Weekly
"Rees presents this vivid, hidden culture with raw honesty..." -- Grade: A 01/13/2012

Rolling Stone
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] stirring and heartfelt journey. And Oduye is unforgettable." 01/19/2012

Washington Post
4 stars out of 4 -- "PARIAH feels a lot like life, at its most confusing, contradictory and exhilarating." 01/06/2012