Taraji P. Henson delivers a powerful performance in Straw, and there’s a deep message to take from the movie. This thriller sees her as Janiyah, a single mom who is just trying to make ends meet. What happens when she reaches the point of breaking?
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Straw on Netflix.
We’ve seen a lot of movies in recent years that show what it’s like for people to reach their breaking point. Unhinged is going to stand out for some, and it certainly focuses on the devastation that comes when a person just has a complete break from who they once were.
Janiyah’s isn’t violent, though. At least, it’s not maliciously violent. She ends up in wrong places at the wrong time, and she doesn’t quite think all of her actions, though. The twist at the end is heartbreaking, as we see just what makes a mom crack.
Did Janiyah survive Straw?
When someone holds up a bank, especially with no plan to, it can feel like it’s going to be a death sentence. For a Black woman to hold up a bank — even unintentionally — it leads to certain death, right? Well, that’s what it seemed like in Straw, and without the right people in her corner, that’s the way it could have been.
Fortunately, she had Detective Raymond on the outside fighting for her, seeing a bit of her own mom and herself in Janiyah. On the inside, she had the bank’s branch manager, Nicole, on the inside, empathizing with Janiyah. The best thing about Nicole was that she didn’t just empathize as a trick to get Janiyah to rethink everything; she genuinely felt for her and could tell that Janiyah didn’t really want to hurt anyone.
There is a scene where the FBI storms the bank and shoots Janiyah after learning that the “bomb” in the bag wasn’t a bomb at all. However, this scene is all in Janiyah’s head, and she is alive at the end of Straw. She walks out holding Nicole’s hand, and she’s arrested by Det. Raymond, who continues to show kindness and empathy.
As she’s arrested, the people who have crowded around continue to act in support of Janiyah. They know that she is a victim of society, and while what she has done is wrong, they want to see her freed.
Janiyah realizes the heartbreaking truth in Straw
However, there’s a bigger twist that comes with this story. All Janiyah wants is $40 for her daughter’s school lunch. She wants to stop the teasing at the school. Of course, before the bank robbery, she was also evicted from her apartment — in a disgusting, inhumane way — and she had shot a robber and her boss. On top of that, her daughter was taken away by CPS, leading to Janiyah just trying to focus on getting her paycheck and finding a way to survive.
Toward the end, she gets a call from her mom, who is frustrated that the FBI is at her house. That’s when the heartbreaking twist hits Janiyah. Her daughter, Arya, died the night before, suffering a seizure. All those interactions we saw throughout the morning with her daughter in her mind, and it explains why the principal had a confused look on her face when she waved and some of the confused glances in the apartment complex.
Nicole knew, even when she agreed to raise Arya while Janiyah did her time in jail. The police had already told Nicole the devastating truth, but Nicole didn’t want to say anything to Janiyah, realizing that this was a mom who hadn’t accepted her daughter’s death.
It’s the realization of Arya’s death that leads to Janiyah giving up. What is there to live for without her daughter? Rather than turn her gun on herself, though, she surrenders herself and there is a small message of hope. Maybe with the right people, she can get through this grief. There may even be some leniency to make sure she gets the help she needs.
Straw is available to stream on Netflix.