REVIEW: When Melinda (Ajiona Alexus) meets Robert (Antonio Madison), it isn’t exactly love at first sight, but she cannot help noticing how obviously boyish and sexy he is. They are both teenagers still and things soon escalate to the bed when Robert decides to ‘comfort’ Melinda following her mom’s funeral. However, there’s trouble in paradise when Melinda finds out that Robert is cheating on her and just when the relationship seems to have gone kaput, Robert somehow pacifies his lady love. Soon, they get married and thus begin a rollercoaster ride headed for doom.
It’s the kind of story that has been attempted many times before. So, Tyler Perry, the director, whose name is part of the film’s name, drives it in reverse, taking us from the present to the past, as Melinda (Taraji P. Henson) narrates the story of her life to a shrink. As the film progresses, we are taken through a recurring theme of a marriage on the rocks where the husband (Lyriq Bent) is projected as the villain, but still, there is a part of you that is rooting for him. This is perhaps the most intriguing part of Perry’s narrative, as he sickly unravels the varied aspects of the human mind and relationships, where we often see and believe the obvious.
The film’s all-black cast is undoubtedly its strong point even when the story and screenplay do not offer much novelty and are mired in clichés. Taraji is aptly cast as the woman scorned, who is at the end of her rope, supporting her man against all odds. Lyriq Bent performs adequately well as the pile-on of a husband, who tests his wife’s patience with a stubborn idea for earning a livelihood and a pipe dream of a yacht, a sky-view penthouse and a diamond ring, et al. Of course, he looks dapper and sharp too. Crystle Stewart shows good restraint in her role of the svelte and sorted Diana. But it is a Taraji show all the way, who goes over-the-top for a film that has such obvious loopholes in the writing.
‘Tyler Perry’s Acrimony’ doesn’t know subtlety and that is its biggest drawback. For a film that hinges on sensitive interpersonal relationships, it’s way out there with a loud central character. So much so that their problems sometimes come across as unintentionally funny. Yet, there is a sense of engagement with the way Tyler takes us through the lives of his characters. And in the end, it’s an oddly satisfying feeling to be left wondering, who really is the victim here.
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