Tyler Perry’s Straw Review: An Emotional Story Of A Mother Who Snaps One Day

Tyler Perry’s Straw Review: In this Netflix thriller film, we see a single mother face a string of misfortunes that thrust her unexpectedly into a world of suspicion and indifference.

The drama thriller film has a runtime of 105 minutes.

Tyler Perry’s Straw Review

Tyler Perry’s Straw starts, and right off the bat, we understand that our protagonist is not doing well. She is a single mother who is struggling to make ends meet, and things become worse when Child Services takes her baby from her. But just when you think she has suffered enough, the movie shows that she has not and with bated breath, you wait to see just how much worse her situation can get.

Throughout the movie, you get the feeling that the entire world is against Janiyah. However, deep down, we all know that society often treats unsupported single mothers with the same cold judgment and neglect.

Janiyah, who just wanted $40 for her daughter’s school lunch money, gets caught up in an unlikely bank robbery entirely accidentally. One of the only few people in this entire film who actually shows her even a small amount of human decency is police officer Raymond, who also shares a similar kind of past to hers. She, too, is a single mother and was raised by one as well.

The entire film is apologetically feminist, and the plight of women gets highlighted every time. They stick together and try to help each other out, whereas most of the men fail to comprehend Janiyah’s situation. It also highlights some other major issues like racism, as a white cop becomes hell-bent on putting the entire fault on Janiyah.

The most intense moment for me was definitely the part where Janiyah talked to the police officer on the phone, and everyone listened to her complaints. Here, she asked some very powerful questions, and it definitely makes you realise just how difficult it is for some people to survive even in a bare minimum way.

Janiyah also makes some really important bonds in this film, and one of the most prominent ones is with the bank manager, Nicole. However, not all women are actually helpful in this movie, as we see one of the employees literally showcase no consideration for Janiyah, even after witnessing and hearing about her entire story.

Till the end, the movie maintains its ability to frustrate its audience because of the blatant unfairness that the protagonist faces. And I must say that the actress, Taraji P. Henson, sells her character’s predicament extremely well. Not just her, but every character here does a phenomenal job in their respective roles.

However, I must warn the audience of the absolutely harrowing and powerful ending that might make you cry. The twist came out of nowhere, and I was shocked by how beautifully they unfolded the mystery. Janiyah really fought hard, and even when the struggle was no longer needed, she kept going on.

Verdict

I absolutely loved this movie and think that this is one of the best films I have seen this year. This movie gives us a beautiful mix of tragedy with suspense thriller, and it works surprisingly well. Taraji P. Henson truly sold the role of a broken mother so skillfully that her story will stay with you even after the movie ends.

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