Review of Pariah (2011) by Michael H — 13 Jan 2012

A coming out story that succeeds because it feels real rather than melodramatic. It's a small, confined story filled with people who are reasonably well-adjusted in their world, but whose world is shaken up through coming to terms (or not) with the inevitable acknowledgement of "the elephant in the room" - the gay teenager.

The cinematography, with it's extremely tight framing, conveys the feeling of a closed world, tight boundaries, and limited options so well that these things don't need to be explicitly stated. the frame opens up just a little toward the end as new horizons are seen, both physically and metaphorically.

By keeping the story close to home and not overburdening the characters with extraordinary problems, "Pariah" offers insight into many of the ways real people behave out here in the real world.