Dee Rees crafts an intimate film that explores the life of a young woman attempting to express herself fully in a world that doesn't support her ability to find her footing. In the opening of the film we see Alike and Laura in close ups with the background completely out of focus. This imagery tells us that these are two young women have a world inside of them, but are disconnected to the world around them. They only make sense to one another.
Rees also creates tension between characters in subtle ways that become vital pieces of revealing information about characters. One example is Alike demanding Laura not ride the bus to her stop, saying she doesn't need to be protected. The real reason she wants her off the bus is so she can change her clothes. She's afraid of being attacked by her mother for dressing like a boy when she gets home, and ashamed of changing in front of her friend who does care for her. Another moment is Audrey pretending to be asleep when Arthur comes home. The moment is revealing as to Arthur's lack of honesty in their relationship and Audrey's use of trickery in order to get what she wants as she is only faking being asleep.
We watch as Alike goes from being a young woman who hides who she is to being able to choose to express herself from the deepest parts of who she is. The use of poetry as the vehicle for this parallels Alike's desire to fully express herself in life. Dee Rees crafts a very true parallel in that the issues one has in breaking through with their art usually relates to the issue(s) they have in their life that they aren't dealing with. Thus, when Alike confronts her mother with the truth of her sexuality, it isn't just about conflict erupting between them; it is about the floodgates of creativity, light, and truth springing forth from within her. She is no longer trapped. She is set free to find a place to land, and we get to see that clearly in her poem.
