Starring Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans and Pernell Walker. Written and directed by Dee Rees. 86 minutes. Opens Jan. 13 at AMC Yonge-Dundas. Coming of age and coming out are both hard to do.

Films combining these issues aren’t all that rare, so it’s very pleasing to see a small film like Pariah tackle both subjects with a surprising blend of maturity and freshness. Adepero Oduye plays 17-year-old Alike (pronounced a-LEE-kay), a brooding teen and budding dub poet growing up in Brooklyn with her parents and younger sister, but leading a double life of sorts.

When she arrives at school, she does a quick-change in a washroom stall, discarding the clothes her doting but concerned mother would prefer for the clothes that are part of her emerging identity, sort of lesbian-gangsta chic. Same thing for nights out with BFF Laura (played by Pernell Walker), whose mannish clothes and behaviour arouse Alike’s mother’s alarm and contempt.

Alike has always been “daddy’s girl” — they shoot hoops and have a companionable relationship — while younger sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) is much more in her mother’s image, feminine and a little boy-crazy. But mom’s concerns about her older daughter will not be stilled and that’s going to force Alike, who’s still a virgin, to take a stand sooner rather than later.

FULL ARTICLE HERE