event Pariah
-
Mon Feb 4
7 pm
Pariah at UWM Union Theatre
Writer-director Dee Rees’ debut feature, Pariah, has a premise that sounds assembled from a Sundance Refrigerator Magnet Poetry set: black lesbian coming-of-age story. And in too many regards, the film lives down to its paradigmatic Sundance-iness, advancing a small-scale, sensitive, humanist character study that’s progressive and thoughtful without getting too far out of line. There are times when even its subtleties seem predictable, when it questions dramatic conventions that indie films have already questioned, like the temperament of movie-parents whose children fear coming out of the closet. Yet the film has an abiding sweetness that’s ultimately irresistible, and in its most effective moments, reveals an underground scene where young black lesbians can seek refuge in each other and simply be themselves.
UWM Union Theatre 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI
Writer-director Dee Rees’ debut feature, Pariah, has a premise that sounds assembled from a Sundance Refrigerator Magnet Poetry set: black lesbian coming-of-age story. And in too many regards, the film lives down to its paradigmatic Sundance-iness, advancing a small-scale, sensitive, humanist character study that’s progressive and thoughtful without getting too far out of line. There are times when even its subtleties seem predictable, when it questions dramatic conventions that indie films have already questioned, like the temperament of movie-parents whose children fear coming out of the closet. Yet the film has an abiding sweetness that’s ultimately irresistible, and in its most effective moments, reveals an underground scene where young black lesbians can seek refuge in each other and simply be themselves.
Updated 01/21/2013
