Every few weeks I make a point to watch a newly released film available through a streaming service.
Now, I do this for two reasons – on one hand sometimes it’s just too expensive to go out to the movies and, on the other, it’s purely because I’m too busy to carve out uninterrupted and dedicated viewing time for a theater experience.
That latter reason was why I took a chance on Netflix’s “Straw” movie last weekend!
Unfortunately, I found the movie equally depressing and frustrating from a personal standpoint due to the subject matter.
At any given moment, I can name at least five single parents that are close friends of mine that also struggle daily to juggle every aspect of their lives and their children’s with the odds stacked against them.
Plus, I know there are dozens more in Matagorda County alone based on statistics.
Still, the acting was perfectly poignant for the subject matter at hand despite how much I hated that twist ending and the lack of resolution.
Straw is an American psychological crime drama film written, produced and directed by Tyler Perry.
The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Rockmond Dunbar, Ashley Versher, Mike Merrill, Gabrielle Jackson, and Glynn Turman.
While it clocks in at 108 minutes long, the movie has a TV-MA rating for profanity, violence, and frightening and intense scenes – among other instances.
Janiyah Wiltkinson (Henson) is a single mother living in a dilapidated apartment with her frequently ill daughter, Aria (Jackson).
One morning, Aria expresses frustration over her inability to bathe herself and tells Janiyah that her teacher said she couldn’t afford lunch in front of her classmates.
Though visibly upset, Janiyah focuses on getting to work and taking Aria to school.
As she leaves, Janiyah gives spare change to Benny (Sinbad) a neighbor in a wheelchair, prompting her landlord to threaten eviction unless backed rent is paid by 10 a.m.
After dropping Aria off at school, Janiyah goes to her grocery store job, where a family throws a glass bottle at her after she refuses to process a WIC transaction for ineligible items.
Her unsympathetic boss Richard (Turman) orders her to clean up the mess.
While in the back room, Janiyah receives a call from the school reporting that Aria has sustained injuries.
Janiyah tries to explain they occurred during a seizure in the bathtub, but her boss demands she return within 30 minutes and refuses to release her paycheck.
She rushes to the bank to withdraw lunch money for Aria, but is delayed by a long line.
When she finally arrives at the school, she is confronted by the principal and Child Protective Services, who take Aria into custody despite her pleas.
Driving back to work in the rain, Janiyah accidentally cuts off an off-duty police officer, who retaliates by throwing a fast food meal at her and hitting her car in an attempt to force her off the road.
A responding officer impounds her car due to expired insurance.
When she returns to her job, Janiyah is fired, and her boss again refuses to issue her paycheck and cites company policy as final checks being mailed to fired employees.
From there, things compound even further and make Janiyah’s day worse – in fact there’s almost no end to how much is heaped on her plate.
Overall, I don’t feel comfortable recommending this film to anyone unless you can handle the subject matter – otherwise I find it to be a contender for one of the worst movies I’ve seen this year.
