A Price above Rubies

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 earth-shatteringly deep;, characterization beyond film's female lead is scanty, with one-dimensional male models on display here. Second feature from writer/director Yakin.