A Price above Rubies

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A Price above Rubies ★★½ 1997 (R)

Evils of patriarchal society are exposed in this tale of an Orthodox Jewish wife who seeks fulfillment outside the lonely and oppressive world in which she lives. Zellweger shines as Sonia, who defies her frigid Hasidic husband Mendel (Fitzgerald) to take a job as a jeweler, then falls in love with a Puerto Rican artist (Payne). Eccleston is Mendel's brother, who has a strange relationship with Sonia, and Margulies is his more traditional wife who tries to help Sonia fit in with their way of life. Interesting, though not earthshatteringly deep, characterization beyond film's female lead is scanty, with onedimensional male models on display here. Second feature from writer/director Yakin. 117m/C VHS, DVD . Renee Zellweger, Christopher Eccleston, Glenn Fitzgerald, Allen Payne, Julianna Margulies, Kim Hunter, John Randolph, Kathleen Chalfant, Edie Falco, Tim Jerome, Phyllis Newman; D: Boaz Yakin; W: Boaz Yakin; C: Adam Holender; M: Lesley Barber.

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