ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EmulateIE7" /> <meta name="keywords" content="movie review, movie reviews, dvd reviews, blu-ray reviews, recent movie grades" /> <title>True View Reviews</title> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../../tvr.ico" type="image/x-icon" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../cssnew/index.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../cssnew/review_list.css" /> </head> <body> <!-- The wrapper division encloses the whole page --> <div class="wrapper"> <a name="top" /> <!-- The header division encloses the page header --> <div class="header"> <a href="../../index.htm"> <img alt="TVRBanner" src="../../graphics/TVRBanner.png" class="trueviewlogo" /> </a> </div> <!-- The content division includes the posters new items, annoucements, copy right & certification areas of the page --> <div class="content"> <div class="moviedata"> <div id="rightpane"> <div class="moviename"> PARIAH </div> <div class="releasedata"> <a class="releasedata1">Release Date: </a><a class="moviedataitalic">Friday, January 13, 2012</a> <a class="releasedata2">Runtime: </a><a class="moviedataitalic">1 Hour(s), 26 Minutes</a> </div> <div class="genre"> <a class="releasedata1">Genre: </a><a class="moviedataitalic">Drama</a> </div> <div class="rating"> <a class="releasedata1">MPAA Rating: </a><a class="moviedataitalic">R</a><a class="moviedataitalic2"> </a> </div> <div class="director"> <a class="moviedirector">DIRECTOR(S): </a><a class="moviedataname"> Dee Rees</a> </div> <div class="actor"> <a class="moviecast">CAST: </a><a class="moviedataname">Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell</a> </div> </div> <div id="leftpane"> <img src="../../posters/2012/pariah01-13-12.jpg" alt="PARIAH" class="posterimage" /> </div> </div> <div class="what"> <div class="reviewers"> <div class="reviewer1"> <div class="review_link"> <a href="#A"> <img alt="Laurie" src="../../graphics/TVRIconSm.png" class="review_graphic" /></a> <!--<a class="grade1">A</a>--> </div> </div> <div class="reviewer2"> <div class="review_link"> <a href="#B"> <img alt="Renee'" src="../../graphics/RRRIconSm.png" class="review_graphic" /></a> <!--<a class="grade1">5</a><br /> <a id="A1">Out of Five Reels</a>--> </div> </div> <div class="reviewer3"> <div class="review_link"> <a href="#C"> <img alt="Liz" src="../../graphics/LizSmIcon.png" class="review_graphic" /></a> <a class="grade2">B+</a> </div> </div> <div class="reviewer4"> <div class="review_link"> <a href="#D"> <img alt="Mark" src="../../graphics/directorchairsm.png" class="review_graphic" /></a> <a class="grade1">4</a><br /> <a id="A3">Out of Four Stars</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="click"> Click on Icon to read individual reviews </div> </div> <!--<div class="reviewpane"> <a name="A" /> <p class="h1"> LAURIE COKER'S REVIEW<br /> RATING: A</p> <p> <br /><br /> </p> <br /> <p class="byline">Laurie Coker, True View Reviews</p> <a href="#top" class="backtotop">(Top)</a> </div>--> <!--<div class="reviewpane"> <a name="B" /> <p class="h1"> RENEE' COLLINS' REVIEW<br /> RATING: 5 (Out of 5 Reels)</p> <p> <br /><br /> </p> <br /> <p class="byline"> Renee' Collins, Renee's Reel Reviews</p> <a href="#top" class="backtotop">(Top)</a> </div>--> <div class="reviewpane"> <a name="C" /> <p class="h1"> ELIZABETH LOPEZ' REVIEW<br /> RATING: B+</p> <p> Although the film  Pariah, written and directed by Dee Rees, is about one young adolescent woman s struggle with identity, it has a universal aspect that will draw a diverse set of spectators and not necessarily a  target audience limited to a specific community. There are a variety of characters in the contemporary drama with which people may be able to identify, male or female, either personally, within their family or friends. It is definitely very moving.<br /><br /> Rees short film as a university student won multiple awards in 2007 and 2008 in six film festivals and it was expanded into a feature film that made its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film s lead actress, Adepero Oduye, starred in the short film and returned for the feature film. The cinematographer, Bradford Young, was honored at Sundance, with the [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award. Spike Lee served as a mentor for this young filmmaker and is among the feature s 14 executive producers.<br /><br /> Focus Features acquired the film after Sundance and it was also screened at the Bob Bullock Museum s Texas Spirit Theater during the October 2011 Austin Film Festival. Many in attendance at the screening that my writing colleague, Mark Saldana, and I attended were very impressed and stopped to have conversations about the film outside the theater. It can cause conversation, pro or con.<br /><br /> A 17-year-old African-American woman, Alike (Adepero Oduye), and younger sister, Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) live with their parents, Audrey (Kim Wayans) and Arthur (Charles Parnell), in Brooklyn s Fort Greene neighborhood. At home, her parents marriage is strained. She attends her local high school, is a good student and her flair for poetry is recognized by her teacher/writing mentor, Mrs. Alvarado (Zabryna Guevara), who encourages her to express herself through her art.<br /><br /> Alike s best friend is an out lesbian, Laura (Pernell Walker), who supports her as she begins to embrace her identity as a lesbian. Audrey does not hide the fact that she does not care for the two to be friends. Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend, but is not drawn to anyone until her mother insists on her making the acquaintance of a colleague s daughter, Bina (Aasha Davis). Alike and Bina s mother have no idea what kind of socializing their daughters are capable of or the effect it has on Alike.<br /><br /> There are many scenes of tension in Alike s household; her parents, then clashes between Alike and her mother when their completely opposite views of dressing and development are a topic of discussion. It becomes quite obvious the 17-year-old does not have her parents full support of her choices, but she identifies the path that she will take: to be who she is and will be.<br /><br /> Casting was done by Eyde Belasco, CSA and other cast members include Shamika Cotton, Raymond Anthony Thomas, Afton Williamson, Kim Sykes, Rob Morgan and Nina Daniels among others. The film is rated R and will be in Austin area theaters January 13, 2012 after a limited opening last month.<br /><br /> </p> <br /> <p class="byline"> Elizabeth Lopez, Cine y Mas</p> <a href="#top" class="backtotop">(Top)</a> </div> <div class="reviewpane"> <a name="D" /> <p class="h1"> MARK SALDANA'S REVIEW<br /> RATING: 4 (Out of 4 Stars)</p> <p> I had the pleasure of viewing this film at the 2011 Austin Film Festival and loved it so much that I had to watch it again at a screening prior to its release. This first time feature film for writer/director Dee Rees takes an authentic and realistic approach to its story of high school student Alike (Adepero Oduye) and her day to day struggles to juggle duality. To her family, Alike comes across as a tomboy, but still grudgingly wears girlie clothes her mother Audrey (Kim Wayans) buys her. At school and among her circle of lesbian friends, Alike feels free to be herself wearing masculine clothes. She and best friend Laura (Pernell Walker) spend lots of their nights at the local lesbian club where Laura and Alike try to pick up women. In addition to the marital strife suffered by Alike's mother and father (Charles Parnell), things eventually come to a head regarding Alike's sexual identity and she finally decides to out herself when she grows tired of the deception.<br /><br /> Writer/director Rees does an amazing job bringing this true-to-life coming of age story which entails the conflicts associated with coming out of the closet, and the empowerment one can find in embracing one s true identity. Based on her acclaimed short by the same title, Rees shows some genuine raw talent that gives her movie an incredibly realistic feel and look. Along with a superb script, PARIAH showcases an outstanding cast. The entire cast and Rees deserve nominations in all of the major film awards. Adepero Oduye offers a sweet and heartfelt performance as the conflicted Alike. Charles Parnell delivers a fiery turn as Alike s father Arthur, an overworked and unhappy man who takes out his frustrations on his wife. The biggest surprise for me would be Kim Wayans who normally is known for comedy. She performs incredibly as Alike s mother Audrey who desires a conservative traditional family.<br /><br /> Wayans and this movie really blew me away. The intensely dramatic scenes nearly left me in tears, even upon a second viewing. Dee Rees shows tremendous promise as a new filmmaking talent. I really do hope that this excellent first feature leads to a successful career. I also hope that she keeps her material grounded in real life, personal stories, as she has proven herself more than capable with this initial film.<br /><br /> </p> <br /> <p class="byline"> Mark Saldana, The Movie Doc</p> <a href="#top" class="backtotop">(Top)</a> </div> <div class="reviewpane"> <div class="footer"> <!-- The certification section displays the W3C certification for the page. --> <div class="cert"> <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=referer"> <img src="../../graphics/valid-xhtml10.gif" alt="Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional" class="w3c" /></a> <br /> <a href="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/images/vcss-blue"> <img src="../../graphics/vcss-blue.gif" alt="Valid CSS!" class="w3c" /></a> </div> <!-- The copyright sections include the copyright disclimers at the bottom of the page --> <div class="copyright"> <img alt="copyright1" src="../../graphics/copyright1.png" /> </div> <div class="copyright2"> <img alt="copyright2" src="../../graphics/copyright2.png" /> </div> <div class="copyright3"> <img alt="copyright3" src="../../graphics/copyright3.png" /> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html>