Review includes Spoilers!

I have to be honest and say that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I started watching ‘Straw’. I hadn’t even watched the trailer before I pressed play. I just saw the title and I just knew I had to watch it. I’m glad I did. Because ‘Straw’ is not just a movie you watch, it’s a movie that you feel. Willingly or not.

‘Straw’ was directed by Tyler Perry and is a raw portrayal of grief, survival, motherhood and the breaking points people hide on a daily basis. It’s one of the most human films I have seen in a long time. (This is your reminder that the review includes spoilers!)

Right from the start, ‘Straw’ showed us Janiyah’s life (played by Taraji P. Henson), a mother who is doing everything she can to care for her ill daughter while trying to stay afloat. Janiyah’s reality and life is one that many people know well: one about surviving, doing it all alone, and being unseen while ensuring her daughter is well taken care of. As the film plays, we witness Janiyah’s breaking point when trying to get lunch money for her daughter, becomes a hostage situation in the bank. However, the real breaking point is not happening in the bank, it’s actually happening inside Janiyah as we discover that her daughter has already passed away and she simply couldn’t face the reality.

‘Straw’ doesn’t just tell us the story of Janiyah, it makes us feel it. It makes us feel HER. The emotions ‘Straw’ brings out are strong, suffocating, and you will need to pause the movie to sit and understand those feelings. What makes ‘Straw’ so powerful is that Janiyah’s story is not rare or unrelated, but it rarely gets told and shown on screen with such emotion. ‘Straw’ is like a mirror as Janiyah is all of us, especially those of us who have ever felt invisible, unheard while quietly falling apart.

There are three moments in ‘Straw’ that I find unforgettable and will still think about for a while.

The first scene that I still think about is Janiyah’s live-streamed speech in the bank as she talks to Detective Raymond. I would say that is one of the most important scenes from the film. Her monologue is raw, real, and heartbreaking as she finally lets go of everything she held on to for so long. When she says, “I’m all we’ve got. Nobody cares. Nobody sees us. This is my life. Over and over and over and over,” I got goosebumps. Watching her express those feelings is devastating, but what’s even more devastating is how relatable it is to our society today. ‘Straw’ is not a movie about what it used to be, ‘Straw’ is a movie about how life is today.

The scene when Janiyah realises with the help of her mother that her daughter is gone simply knocks the wind out of you. While there were things along the way that seemed a bit confusing, the realisation both for Janiyah and for us, the audience that her daughter is gone is shattering. You could feel the pain as she breaks apart quietly and all at once. Tyler Perry knew exactly what he was doing to us in this scene. He wanted us to feel her, to see her, to hear her, to be her even for a moment. He didn’t want her actions to be justified, he wanted her actions to be seen, heard, and understood.

While the last scene is linked to the previous one, I believe it has its own importance. The moment the police storm into the bank, breaking the glass, smoke all around and hitting Janiyah in her heart is not just action. I believe the police breaking in symbolises the emotions she suppressed breaking in and making her feel everything she didn’t want to. The way it hit her heart is more about how not only her body is wounded but her soul, and her pain, denial, and reality finally hit her that this is the reality she will have to live with from now on.

‘Straw’ showed us how devastating grief is and how it’s not the same for all. Janiyah’s love for her daughter is so intense that she simply refuses to accept the reality of not being with her daughter. Her portrayal of motherhood is raw, painful, and complicated. Janiyah’s portrayal of motherhood is one of the realest I have seen on screen. It’s not there to judge or show how motherhood should or shouldn’t be, it’s there to show how motherhood is for so many.

There is no doubt that the whole cast is incredible, but I would like to take a minute and talk about some of them. Taraji P. Henson as Janiyah is simply extraordinary the way she expressed Janiyah’s emotions with such vulnerability is one of a kind. She doesn’t just make you see her on screen, she makes you feel her through her acting. Teyana Taylor as Detective Kay Raymond is there to remind us that real power lies in listening and not rushing to judge too quickly and too harshly. Sherri Shepherd as Nicole is simply warmth and acts as a reminder of sisterhood and connection. These characters didn’t just see one another, they heard one another.

‘Straw’ is not a film that you watch casually. It’s a must-see for those who seek emotional truth, heartbreak, and stories that simply stay with you. ‘Straw’ is a reminder that grief has many faces and sometimes it wears a smile. ‘Straw’ reminds us of the importance of kindness as we never know their burdens or who’s holding on by a thread.