"Pariah," writer-director Dee Rees' feature debut, achieves a difficult, intriguing balance. It's at once raw and dreamlike, specific to a particular, personal rite of passage yet widely relatable in its message of being true to oneself.

Adepero Oduye gives a subtly natural performance as Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old Brooklyn girl who's struggling.....