“Straw” is a thriller directed by the talented Terry Perry,Straw Movie Review among the most detail-oriented directors you’ll ever meet. If you go and watch some of his movies, you’ll understand his competitiveness in the entertainment industry. However, Straw’s storyline seems too harsh on the female protagonist. She struggles to arrange money for herself and her daughter while her fate has stuck her in diabolical situations throughout the movie. The movie reflects the difficulties of being a single mother and highlights the extra frustration put on the character.
Forced Storyline of Straw
Straw looked more forced than implemented, as it feels like Janiyah, the single mother, is targeted by every person she passes by. The story has a severe lack of depth and coordination in its implementation. Moreover, the difficulties Janiyah has endured throughout the movie do impact the audience, but that’s all they will feel in the whole film. The plot of the movie has become so predictable that we can second-guess what might happen to her next.
Let us start from the very beginning of the incidents. The first incident you will note is when Janiyah went to her daughter, Aria’s, school. After reaching the school, she had to deal with Child Protective Services. Moreover, she seemed to have some rental issues with the landlord and thus was evicted from her house. In the next series of incidents, she lost one job where she worked as her boss was too merciless on his employees. Therefore, it feels like the plot is all about the whole world targeting Janiyah.
Moreover, these incidents unfolded even more when Janiyah took the opposite path of the law. The movie intended to build tension with every other incident happening to her. She was allegedly blamed for the robbery case when all she did was help the people out there. However, she turned out to be the villain of this case. Moreover, the ending was indeed very emotional, but scarcely made sense. Janiyah was shot at the scene of the robbery for something she didn’t do.
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Straw and its Production Mistakes
“Straw” doesn’t reflect much effort in its making; rather, it feels more like a movie made to pump the world’s frustration into it. The movie was made to leave a message to be kind to single mothers, and thus, didn’t need some high-five editing in it. However, the visual designs in the movie were not at all convincing. It looked right, the production team just rented some business buildings for their shots. These buildings were not improvised for shooting and were used as they were. Moreover, the outfits provided to the characters are nothing but designer. They are way too simple and obvious. If we point out the mistakes, one of the biggest flaws was the rain sequence, where the lightning and background didn’t align. These made the scenic and visual designs of the movie flustered.
Taraji P. Henson’s Performance in Straw
The only part I liked from the bottom of my heart was Taraji P. Henson’s acting throughout the movie. She played the role with utmost sincerit,y even when the script had gaps and faults. The twisted plot of the movie was effectively played by her such that the audience could feel her pain with every passing scene. Moreover, it is her excellence that has made the movie worth watching even after its no-point script.
We won’t say much about the rest of the cast as they didn’t feel up to their mark in the movie. However, Henson has done a great job and satisfied the role with perfection. Moreover, her life was sorted after the bank manager, Nicole, helped her get free from the robbery case, as well as helped her get a good-paying job. Nicole was a character in the movie with a kind heart and generosity, which made her stand by Janiyah’s side when in need.
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Conclusion
We are not sure whether you will like the plot of the movie or not, but you will surely like Henson’s acting throughout the movie. Even after all the struggles she endured, she always found herself stuck in some even more difficult situations. The movie attempted to make an inspirational and miserable movie to dedicate to all the single mothers who are struggling in this world. However, its delivery could have been better.
