A Price Above Rubies

A Price Above Rubies is a 1998 British-American drama film written and directed by Boaz Yakin and starring Renée Zellweger. The story centers on a young woman who finds it difficult to conform to the restrictions imposed on her by her community. Reviews of the film itself were mixed, though there were generally positive reviews of Zellweger's performance. The title derives from a Jewish Sabbath tradition. The acrostic Sabbath chant The Woman of Valor (eishet chayil) begins with the verse "... Who can find a woman of valor, her price is far above rubies ... ," which in turn is excerpted from The Book of Proverbs. This chant traditionally is a prelude to the weekly toast (kiddush) which begins the Sabbath meal. Plot summary Sonia is a young Brooklyn woman who has just given birth to her first child. She is married, through an arranged marriage, to Mendel, a devout Hasidic Jew who is too repressed and immersed in his studies to give his wife the attention she craves. He even condemns her for making sounds during sex and considers nudity with sex "indecent". Sonia is distressed and later, after a panic attack, she tries to kiss her sister-in-law Rachel. Rachel persuades her to talk to the Rebbe but Sonia cannot truly articulate what is upsetting her, instead resorting to a metaphor of a fire burning her up.