's new dramatic thriller, , premiered on Netflix on June 6, 2025, and instantly became the most-watched movie in the U.S. Despite drawing mediocre reviews, gives an emotionally fraught performance as Janiyah Wiltkinson, a hard-working single mother bruised and battered by a series hard-luck life events that lead to pain, agony, and unspeakable anguish.
As Janiyah forges a warpath against her perceived societal injustices, many viewers have noticed a stark similarity to the controversial Michael Douglas movie . Although the lead characters and their unfortunate circumstances differ, both movies explore a single parent's psychological breaking point as they reach their final straw, take matters into their own hands, and lash out against society with unremitting violence. The two stories are so similar that it's worth wondering if Perry made Straw as a deliberate riff on Falling Down.
Filmed in four days, Tyler Perry's new movie, Straw, concerns a single mother, Janiyah Wiltkinson (Henson), during the worst time of her life. Living in a dilapidated apartment with her terminally ill daughter, Aria (Gabby Jackson), everything that can go wrong for Janiyah does go wrong. .
Fed up and intolerant of her sick and cruel life, constantly delivering one detrimental blow after another, Janiyah takes matters into her own hands after being accused of being involved in a bank robbery. Despite the heartfelt sympathy for Janiyah, largely thanks to Henson's committed performance, Straw undermines itself with a last-act twist that veers more into the supernatural than the psychological. Even so, the one-person-against-society's ills formula has been explored before and more effectively by Joel Schumacher in the 1993 Michael Douglas movie Falling Down.
Michael Douglas has often referred to Falling Down as his favorite of his own movies. . Fed up to no end, D-Fens (later revealed to be named Bill Foster) abandons his car in gridlocked traffic and wanders through the city on an increasingly violent warpath.
. As he heads toward his ex-wife's house, where his daughter lives, Bill encounters what he perceives as one gross societal injustice after another. With each passing societal grievance, viewers slowly begin to lose sympathy for Bill. when he meets a hateful pawn shop owner during his citywide sojourn. Although the controversy is warranted, Bill ultimately rejects the shop owner's sick and twisted ideology once the man crosses the line and begins insulting him.
Still, Bill becomes more dangerous and unstable as he beelines toward his wife and daughter. . While Straw also focuses on a parent reaching their breaking point to reunite with their child, Tyler Perry deliberately flips the script to warrant more sympathy for Janiyah, not less, as in Bill's case.
Beyond increasing sympathy for Janiyah in Straw and decreasing sympathy for Bill in Falling Down, the two movies also differ thematically. While both characters are alienated by society and seen as victims of their unique life circumstances, a late plot twist in Straw reveals the movie's true intentions. Without spoiling the big twist, .
Once the psychological twist is revealed, viewers may feel duped by Perry's misdirection, but they're sure to feel more sympathy for Janiyah even when she behaves poorly. There's no mystery who to root for in Straw, as it's meant to vindicate Janiyah after being subject to so many unfair injustices. Although the conclusion is no less shocking than in Falling Down, the Michael Douglas movie challenges viewers' sense of allegiance until the very end.
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In other words, . Viewers are with Bill one moment, then repulsed by his actions the next, only to understand his next move, then disagree with him again. He begins as a rootable enough character at the beginning, loses his way, and alienates the audience in the same way society has alienated him, before doubling back again and again. This sense of moral ambiguity is why Falling Down merits repeated viewings and why it has endured for over 30 years.
By contrast, Straw leaves no room for nuance or subtlety. e without wavering and wants the audience to feel for her plight no matter what. Her psychological unraveling leads to the big plot twist, conjuring more sympathy along the way as fans hope for her redemption, if not salvation.
Beyond the big plot twist that reveals Janiyah's psychological state, Straw and Falling Down similarly serve as intriguing character studies that beg the question: how far is one willing to go to right the perceived wrongs in their life?
