Straw Netflix Movie Review: The movie Straw is now available on Netflix. Tyler Perry is the one who made this movie and he has directed several other films before this. In this movie, Taraji P. Henson plays Janiyah, the leading character. Janiyah is someone who is a mother. She is dedicated in her work. She is currently raising a small child who is sick. Janiyah does not have enough funds. She is really exhausted. Still, she tries to carry on with her life.
Sooner or later, things do not go as planned. Her daughter is in need of money for school meals. The landlord informed her that she can either pay the rent or leave the house. Although it was not her mistake, Janiyah has to clean the mess at work. The boss is always showing poor manners and is rude to workers. A man pours coffee onto her vehicle. Because her driving licence is outdated, a fine is given to her. They take her car from her. She has to walk in the rain as she goes back to her job.
The situation becomes even more difficult. She is let go by her boss. Her house is shut and everything she owned is thrown out. The daughter is taken from her family by workers from the school. It’s clear that Janiyah feels very much broken. She asks for her final pay before leaving the company. Unfortunately, robbers do show up at the store. The robbers attack her and one catches her alone. Janiyah fights back and hits him with a bullet. However, her boss believes she worked with the people who robbed the store. Janiyah gets very sad because of this. She also points the gun at her boss and shoots him.
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Next, Janiyah heads to the bank so she can receive her money. However, people believe she is a criminal. The police show up. There is a major issue that begins. Mo’Nique’s character is evenly addressed by Sherri Shepherd throughout the scene. Teyana Taylor appears as a sharp police officer who offers help too. People in the crowd are backing Janiyah as she stands outside the bank. They consider her to be a good person. She was tired and felt a lot of discomfort.
The movie shows how life can be very hard for some people. It shows how Black women, like Janiyah, suffer so much and no one helps them. Tyler Perry has shown this kind of sad story in many of his movies. But in Straw, he makes it even more painful. The movie tries to say many things about money, hospitals, and how Black women are treated. But the story is too full of problems. It becomes very heavy.
Still, Taraji P. Henson acts very well. You can feel her pain. You can see her love for her daughter. You can see how she fights back when life hits her again and again. Sherri Shepherd and Teyana Taylor also act nicely. But the movie feels like it wants the viewer to cry all the time. It does not give much hope.
At the end of the movie, someone holds a sign that says “Nevertheless she persisted.” This means – even after so much pain, she did not give up. That line is true for Janiyah. But the movie makes her suffer so much that it becomes too much to watch.
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If you like very emotional movies with a lot of sad things, you can watch Straw. But if you want to feel happy or hopeful, then this movie may not be right for you. The acting is good, but the story is too painful.
Final Thought
Taraji P. Henson did her best. But the movie made her suffer too much. Tyler Perry needs to show strong women without always showing their pain. Sometimes, strength can come with joy too.