Who on earth is Tyler Perry? 😱
Personally I love his movies, really that man is great.
My fyp has been filled with video reviews on “Straw” everyone is talking about it, on tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, even here 😱. I decided to check it out and guess what? It was a blast. It's worth the hype and reviews it was getting.
Most people say if your girlfriend doesn't cry while watching “Straw” that means you can't get her heart broken 😂😂. I definitely agree 💯
Anyways, I took a deep breath to watch this movie, I'm not gonna lie but I was expecting all the hype and emotions people already placed in the movie so I was so anxious 😰
I could feel the burden of the world of Janiyah from the first scene. I was hooked by the voice of Taraji P. Henson, gentle but strained. The camera fixed on flaking paint in her flat, dingy linoleum floors, and the low buzz of fluorescent bulbs above. I could almost taste stale air combined with the smell of worry. It was the world of pressure and it was pressing on my chest.
The speed at which the bad moment is followed by another bad moment makes Straw so gripping. It is morning, and Janiyah wakes up in a flooded apartment, her daughter Aria experiences a seizure, and the air conditioner does not seem to be anywhere in sight. Evictions, the horrors of poverty, and the lack of attention to the system are almost palpable in every word and every scene. Next, she is fired and her salary is held. Her vehicle is seized. Her daughter is being taken away by CPS. And then, in desperation, she shoots a would be robber.
It was not realistic enough. This can easily go out of control by anyone. The tension was so nearly physical--my heart beat, my palms were clammy, my chest was tight. Each scene was a kick in the stomach.
The bank came next. The moment is a hostage incident, caused by a simple visit to cash a check, a situation as crazy as life. Within the bank Janiyahs pain reverberates everywhere. People stare. Some cry. Other people nod in silent sympathy. Instead of violence, detectives on the phone apply compassion. The pressure was relieved, not by shooting, but by listening and hearing.
It took me back to the feeling of how desperate can connect people in loneliness. The negotiator, the bank manager, all the other hostages, they are a selected family. Their posture in front of her, protective, defiant, made me shiver.
The little girl whom we had seen all day, Aria, was dead the previous night. The school riot, the bathroom seizure, none of it occurred. This was just a broken mind of Janiyah dealing with grief. The truth cut through me cold and shocking. All the preceding scenes were given a heart-wrenching new context.
And that was when I understood that it was not a movie about a day of unfortunate events, but it was about a mother losing what is unimaginable, about a system that fails her, and her heart not wanting to accept the worst. I shut my eyes. I became empty. I experienced her grief.
Following the reveal, I was not able to breathe. The standoff of the bank, the press, the mess, those scenes were not only cinematic. They were subconscious defenses of a mother against intolerable suffering. It was almost as though I had walked through a memory burned deep when watching Janiyah as she handled grief, hallucination, shame, and vulnerability.
When she finally gives in, having the detective and the bank manager who did not report her on her side, I noticed one thing: love does not always scream. At times it is quiet. At times it is allowing her to give up without humiliation. I recalled when I wore sadness under the disguise of rage or disorder. I understood how difficult it is to allow another person to hold your shattered fragments.
Taraji P. Henson gives a gritty tour de force performance. She breaks in sound. Her eyes are filled with tears. All the hesitant breathing, all the pauses in response, they all shout out authenticity. She does not merely act like Janiyah, she is her. And Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor and Glynn Turman weave the emotional safety net in which her falling soul is held.
Yes, the movie is theatrical at some point. The rain falls without warning, the radio snippets jump in without any preparation, and the tension is a cadence of a drum. This intensity is fitting in the story, though, as grief does not take a smooth route. It drags you, shoves you, and hurts you out of your mind.
I did not leave my seat when the credits began to roll. I was sore in the chest. My throat was sore. Yet deep inside me, I was light. Owing to the fact that for once in a long time, I came face to face with the reality that life has a way of shattering us into the most devastating pieces and that in some cases, we create fortresses even more stronger than the wounds.
Straw is not a film about misery. It is a tale of institutional indifference, psychological breakdown and human compassion that rescues us. It is about how society can force the most vulnerable people towards the edge of the cliff and how tiny acts of compassion can save us.
Watch Straw if you want a film that:
Does not apologize about displaying naked grief and desperation.
Gives you a twist that hurts because it’s believable.
Demonstrates that empathy is not a cliche, it is transformative.
Was Straw worth the hype? YES!
Was it Emotional? YES
Will it make you Cry? 60-100%
It is not a feel good movie. It is an emotive weatherstorm. but once the storm is over you will look upon the world with a new tenderness--tenderness towards mothers who are grieving, toward those who are worn out, towards those who are ignored by the world.
Thumbnail is designed by me on pixelLab and other images are screenshot from the movie