Stranger Inside
by Cheryl Dunye
from Hbo Home Video
Treasure Lee has moved out of 'juvenile' into the state penitentiary and met up with Brownie a jail-toughened lifer dealing drugs and contraband. Brownie works with an Treasure Lee has moved out of 'juvenile' into the State Pen. Now she needs to learn how the system works search out where the power lies and find herself a new lover. Treasure soon meets up with Brownie a jail-toughened lifer dealing drugs and contraband. Brownie works with an extended family of loyal girls ready to kill or be killed for their 'mother.' Treasure wants in-with a friend like Brownie no one can touch her. And there's something about Brownie that draws her closer. It's not about sex and not about drugs. But the closer she gets the more enemies she makes. Treasure's learning that once you're inside everything you want has a price.Running Time: 97 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 026359178429
A striking story of a young woman seeking her mother in the depths of the prison system. Treasure Lee (Yolanda Ross) is a tough juvenile offender who has never known her mother. When she learns that her mother, known as Brownie (Davenia McFadden), is in a nearby prison for life, Treasure attacks a fellow inmate to get transferred there. Once she arrives, she and her mother soon bond, and Brownie puts Treasure to work dealing drugs as part of her team. As Treasure gets in deeper, she discovers that her mother isn't everything she pretends to be. This potent HBO movie, directed by Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman), is tightly written and edited, and features remarkable performances from a cast of unknowns, including Rain Phoenix. Explicit sex and violence makes for a gritty portrait of prison life more real than HBO's acclaimed series Oz. --Bret Fetzer
The Watermelon Woman
from First Run Features
Cheryl Dunye has transcended the usual pitfalls that pockmark most lesbian-themed movies: specifically, the usual angst and suffering that occur when the gay gal falls for a heterosexual friend. The Watermelon Woman is more a cultural document, addressing speculative sociological gay history themes with an interesting and engaging cover story about a video store clerk named Cheryl (played by Dunye) who, in her research for a movie, comes across an old-time black actress simply called "the watermelon woman" and becomes obsessed with her persona. In the process, Cheryl finds herself embroiled in a relationship that parallels that of her icon.
What makes The Watermelon Woman special is its layered story line and its willingness to present its characters as comically flawed. Dunye also creates an aura of mystique around the enigmatic watermelon woman, and her life and tribulations become fascinating to the viewer. Even Camille Paglia shows up to make commentary about the "actress," and while the story-within-a-story concept is tricky, the power and purpose of the movie emerges, and the character becomes as fascinating as if she were flesh and blood. --Paula Nechak
Stranger Inside [Region 2]
A striking story of a young woman seeking her mother in the depths of the prison system. Treasure Lee (Yolanda Ross) is a tough juvenile offender who has never known her mother. When she learns that her mother, known as Brownie (Davenia McFadden), is in a nearby prison for life, Treasure attacks a fellow inmate to get transferred there. Once she arrives, she and her mother soon bond, and Brownie puts Treasure to work dealing drugs as part of her team. As Treasure gets in deeper, she discovers that her mother isn't everything she pretends to be. This potent HBO movie, directed by Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman), is tightly written and edited, and features remarkable performances from a cast of unknowns, including Rain Phoenix. Explicit sex and violence makes for a gritty portrait of prison life more real than HBO's acclaimed series Oz. --Bret Fetzer
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