Acrimony (2018)

Ok so it took me forever to see this movie. I thought it would be another cliche. But it was better than I expected. The twists! But the ending though. Gosh!

This is the first films directed by Tyler Perry that I watch, and if this is supposed to be one his "best" ones according to other review. Dear god, I can't even imagine how the others will go.Everything on this is horrible, the awkward tv-ish cinematography (the most pathetic ive ever seen in recent years), the subpar acting, the editing, the napkin notes this movie takes as it's script, some of the worst green screen use in the history of movie doom, etcc.But my worst hangover I get from it, it's that it perpetuates this idea about women beating their "cheating" men and killing them or having revenge on them as a form of empowerment. I might be leaning towards cheaters in recent years in media but seriously, the framing of the characters is all over the place. Most of them are incredibly unlikable, the only character with some interesting hint is the "cheater". I can't even tell if this was intentional or not but either way is awful.The only saving grace of the movie is that I can be pretty hilarious, especially the ending, the green screen, the score, the acting, the "aftermath" is a absolute epitome of terrible beauty.

This movie is not crazy at all. It perfectly displays the stages up until derangement of the mind of a person who used to have flaws but was normal. First person's point of view narration was spot-on to execute this. The movie does a good job of showing the audience the many sides of this relationship despite the fact that it was predominantly a 1st pov movie.What pushes people over the edge might differ. Their different personalities factor in differently too and in this case the fiery personality of the antihero protagonist didn't help. In fact because there is no hero in this movie, there is no antihero either. The movie does not deal in black and white one dimensional characters.So just because your edges are different, do not assume the story in the movie is irrelevant. You can look up many crime stories to confirm that this is so real.As for its being a thriller. Thrillers do not have to be "unpredictable" all the time; they are however supposed to keep you tense and involved. Cinema audience are given to consumerism and instant gratification too much. The movie holds its own even if you can guess what's goimg to happen next up until the end. If you can still sit through to watch it in delight, then that movie is beyond its genre. In my case, it is obvious that I could.Actors were good. I had no idea Taraji Henson was such a capable actress. Looking forward to seeing more of her movies where she gets the big part.So. Give the mysteries of the human psyche a chance to make room for a variety of shoes to get into and walk in your own minds.

So asks an unseen therapist in Tyler Perry's Acrimony, as we see Melinda (Taraji P Henson), open up about her husband, her life, and her bottomless pit of rage.And as the movie progresses, we begin to understand the depth of this woman's misery, and despair.The story takes us back 20 years, to a rainy day in college when the life of a younger, more trusting Melinda collides with Slick, a.k.a Robert Gayle.Their initial encounter doesn't go well, in fact it's a preview of coming attractions.Their second encounter, however, sweeps Melinda off her feet. Very sadly, as it turns out.And when her mother dies, and Robert helps her through the emotional crisis, the audience knows she's completely lost.Robert is handsome, Robert is charming, Robert is inventing a battery called the Gayle Force Wind. He's also a seasoned con artist; Melinda doesn't stand a chance.When (against her the advice of her sisters), she tells Robert about the house, and the $350 thousand dollars she's inherited, things start to get very serious very fast.He uses words like "Forever", he refers to her as "Mrs. Gayle", he convinces the reason for his interest is not her money, it's her.Things also start to get ugly...Robert doesn't ask, he suggests. And soon his suggestions lead to her buying him a new car.After which he disappears, only to be found two days later by Melinda, in the arms of another woman.The ensuing confrontation ends in tragedy, and Melinda is left unable to have children.A large part of her life destroyed, it's hard to imagine her ever being able to justify taking Robert back.Melinda, however, finds a way, and soon she's being conned into paying for his last two years of college.He proposes.Although not with a real engagement ring.This, he promises, will come later, when he's wealthy, and can give her everything she wants.The wedding is a sad affair by anyone's standards, and soon he's living in her house, unable to get a job because of a felony he'd thought had been expunged, and using every last cent of her inheritance on one thing: His battery.His battery is his first love, his true love. His wife Melinda is just a way of obtaining it...A human ATM machine of time, money, and free room and board.And when Robert's precious invention forces her to rewire her entire house, Melinda sees the last of her inheritance evaporate.Twenty years pass with Melinda working two jobs while Robert does practically nothing. Twenty years, during which her house (her mother's house) is mortgaged.Melinda's youth is gone, and a slow building rage has replaced her vivacity, and self confidence.The money for the mortgage has, of course, all gone to the battery, as her cold, and ungrateful husband awaits a call from Prescott, a company that will help him launch it.And just when we learn there's a foreclosure on Melinda's home, fate intervenes in the form of an old mistress named Diana.Diana works at Prescott. Diana is going to be the one to eventually help him score his bif home run...And fate has another few bombs left in store, because Diana is not just AN other woman she's THE other woman:The lady Melinda caught Robert with all those years ago. The lady who's unfortunate prescence caused the tragedy which prevented Melinda from ever having children.We see the marriage go into it's death throws, and that's an overstatement since it was never really alive to begin with.A relationship which should've ended with Melinda's hysterectomy, has been sustained largely through Robert's promises, and Melinda's wishful thinking.But the final straw comes when after fire bombing her family's attempt to keep their mother's house, Robert turns down an $800 thousand dollar check from Prescott to sell his battery.With $800 thousand dollars, he could repay Melinda's inheritance, save her house, and their marriage. There's a moment in the movie when we all hold our breaths, hoping against hope that he will do this...But we know our leading man far too well by now. Robert is ambitious. He's also greedy.$800 thousand dollars is not what he has in mind.And so the marriage is dissolved, with Melinda losing the house that she grew up in, and Robert waiting for Prescott to offer more.When that happens, Robert shows up, at Melinda's office, bearing flowers, a ten million dollar check, and the keys to her mother's house.This little twist is one of the finer ones in the movie because it makes something crystal clear, something which I will explain later on.Melinda, having misinterpreted Robert's gesture as a sign of love and reconciliation, goes to his apartment to throw herself at his feet...And this is where the death blow occurs, because Robert is not alone in the apartment, he's in the company of his fiance, Diana...A woman Melinda recognizes all too clearly.And from then on, she can only watch...As Diana becomes the new Mrs. Gayle. As Diana gets the ring Melinda was promised, and (in a final, cruel irony) as Diana becomes pregnant with the baby, Melinda can never have.And as Melinda becomes increasingly violent and insane, the audience knows, she has reached a point of no return.It's isn't the yacht, or the designer wedding gown, or the trip to Paris that's pushed her over the edge.It isn't the lavish apartment.Or the in fact that she's entitled to $150 million dollars instead of only ten.It's the fact that for the past 20 years she has lived on dreams.Dreams of love. Dreams of devotion. Dreams of everlasting gratitude, and affection.Money? What is that? Her mother's house? What is that? These things pale in comparison to the adoration she so desperately craves. The promise of which has kept her alive these past two decades as everything else disintegrates.That distant promise is why she has held on year after year, waiting for Robert to materialize as a man of substance, and integrity.He never does, of course. That's the big punch line.That's what's made Melinda's life into a sick, collosal joke.There are three things that make this movie worth watching:One: Ms. Henson's performance.Her transformation from an innocent victim to a ruthless destroyer is a joy to watch, it having been executed with very few flaws, none of which are her fault. And the words/definitions used to describe that transformation, really are excellent.Two: The prescence of THE other woman, (archrival Diana). This explains Melinda's hopeless descent into psychosis. Although I don't agree with how the character of Diana was portrayed, I do agree with the character herself.Three: The twist of the 10 million dollar check. This shows more than anything else could, Melinda's lack of interest in her husband's money. It's a a surprising little twist, and one that I really didn't see coming.But there are three strikes against this movie which prevent me from giving anything higher than an 8.One: Diana is way too sympathetic when she should be a gold digging snake. In my scenario she helps Robert with Prescott, then steals him away from Melinda, knowing that by helping him, she will, eventually, marry into his money.Two: Melinda is a raving maniac toward the end, when she should be calmer, and more calculating. It's the one part of her transformation I don't agree with. Portraying her as a smart woman doing an incredibly stupid thing.Three: Robert's survival. I agree that Melinda should die. Her life is over. But why should Robert be allowed to live? He's the villain. They try to make him Michael Douglas in Fatal Attraction but the strategy backfires: If he's Michael Douglas to Melinda's Glenn Close, he's not the man who's been lying, cheating and stealing year after year.I will never see Acrimony again, but it's a poignant, and powerful movie. Worth watching. Even if it's only once.