In a world of rules... one woman is ruled by her passion. <BR>&nbsp;

In a world of rules... one woman is ruled by her passion.

Boaz Yakin ventured into the world of urban African-Americans in his debut feature Fresh with remarkable skill. His second feature A Price Above Rubies which he also wrote is about a world that is a bit closer to home for him, it`s the world of contemporary Hassidic New York Jews. Into this world comes Sonia - Renee Zellweger - who`s married with a young baby to the teacher and Talmudic scholar Mendel - Glenn Fitzgerald. She`s going mad within the confines of her life, both in terms of her sexual relationship with her husband and in the restrictions of her role as a woman. And then her brother-in-law Sender - Christopher Eccleston - becomes aware of her talent at assessing jewellery and offers her a job in the family business as well as offering her other services. Yakin sets up such an interesting premise in a world that is fascinating and then fails to follow through. He ultimately falls back onto cliches which is a shame because he has terrific performances from his cast... Renee Zellweger is really establishing an impressive body of work and Christopher Eccleston is convincingly venal as Sender. Yakin could have better used this fascinating community as something more than an exotic backdrop.