FilmSkool — a free film school
Pariah
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
2011 · Directed by Dee Rees · 86 min · Drama · Screenplay in the scene database · 8 frames
Tagline
Who do you become when you can't be yourself?
Plot
Alike ("Lee") is a 17-year-old Black girl who hangs out at clubs with her openly lesbian friend Laura. Alike slowly and firmly comes to terms with her own identity as a butch lesbian, comfortable in baggy clothes and male underwear. Her Christian mother, Audrey, approves of neither Alike's clothes nor her friendship with Laura. Harboring growing suspicions about Alike's sexuality, Audrey forces her to wear feminine clothing and tries to stem any influence from Laura by pushing Alike to instead make friends with Bina, a girl from her church. Alike has a better relationship with her father Arthur, who is a police detective.
Alike begins to develop feelings for Bina and starts spending more time with her than with Laura, much to Laura's annoyance. Arthur comes back late a few times from work, which angers Audrey, and the two of them fight often. Arthur does not think much about the changes in Alike's life. Saying she is going through a phase, he is supportive of her, although he cautions her on steering clear of the area where there is a lesbian bar, saying it's not safe.
One night after going to see an alternative rock band, Alike and Bina are alone in Bina's room when Bina begins caressing and kissing Alike. Alike is at first hesitant, having had no prior experience with physical intimacy. However, she eventually responds, and the two spend the night together. In the morning, Alike talks to Bina about where they want their relationship to go, but Bina says there is no relationship, as she is not "really gay-gay" and only regarded their physical encounter as playful indulgence. Her only further interest in Alike seems to be her concern that Alike not tell anyone else about the two of them. Hurt and upset, Alike leaves and returns home and cries for hours.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Dee Rees
- Cinematography: Bradford Young
- Edited by: Mako Kamitsuna
- Music: Tamar-kali
- Production design: Inbal Weinberg
- Produced by: Nekisa Cooper
Cast
- Adepero Oduye as Alike
- Pernell Walker as Laura
- Aasha Davis as Bina
- Charles Parnell as Arthur
- Sahra Mellesse as Sharonda
- Kim Wayans as Audrey
- Shamika Cotton as Candace
- Raymond Anthony Thomas as Mack
- Afton Williamson as Mika
- Zabryna Guevara as Mrs. Alvarado
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: NorthStar Pictures, Sundial Pictures, Aid + Abet
- Budget: $500,000
- Box office: $769,552
- Themes: identity, coming of age, female homosexuality, dyje, teenage sexuality, lgbt, lgbt teen, woman director, black lgbt, lesbian
More by Dee Rees
On this film
This is the plain index, shown because JavaScript is off. Every lesson here is a free video published by the channel credited on it and plays through that channel's own embed — FilmSkool hosts nothing.