A ‘powerful’ new thriller has stormed to the top of the Netflix charts, claiming more than 25million views in just a few days.
Written, directed and produced by Alex Cross star Tyler Perry, Straw follows a single mother who becomes embroiled in a sequence of terrible and violent events as she struggles to care for her ill daughter.
Oscar-nominee Taraji P Henson leads the cast alongside Teyana Taylor, Jingle All the Way actor Sinbad, and Precious actress Sherri Shepherd.
The movie was added to the streaming platform on June 6 and it didn’t take long for fans to watch it in their droves – as it has dominated the global charts.
Straw currently commands the top spot with more than 25.3m views in the last seven days, and over 45.5m hours watched.
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It beat out stiff competition from the Now You See Me franchise, the Bee Movie, M3GAN and Nonnas for the top slot.
Wrath of the Titans, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish and the Wild Robot also make up the list.
Emerging to strong word of mouth from audiences, the film has been described as one of Tyler’s best films to date – admittedly, this mixed-bag of a catalogue does include his Madea and Mrs Brown’s Boys crossover.
Viewers were particularly vocal about the ‘heartbreaking’ ending – which featured a twist to the tale which will ensure it won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
After watching, fans took to social media to share their thoughts on what they had just witnessed.
‘Straw is such a humbling movie. The rawness was so real and the plot twist was crazy,’ she_mego wrote on X.
‘What a walk through emotions @tylerperry’s Straw. The plot twist at the end wallowed me up. A good watch indeed!’ sandra_buma agreed.
‘After watching Straw, I no longer know how my heart is feeling. When what gave you purpose is suddenly gone. It speaks to a pain that’s hard to name. Raw, emotional, and deeply human. Kudos to the writer… truly outdone,’ david_harris_r said.
‘Tyler Perrys Straw absolutely incredible I literally cried blown away! [sic]’MelisaWhiskey added.
Critics also heaped praise on Taraji, with Screen Rant describing her performance as ‘an acting masterclass.’
‘Straw has a cultural pulse-taking urgency that lifts it above [Tyler Perry’s] usual run of comedies and melodramatic potboilers, flawed as it is,’ Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote.
Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly described the film’s emotions as ‘so raw and the performances are so earnest that you’ve really got to have a heart of stone not to care for these people.’
Award-winning Taraji previously starred in hit movies The Color Purple and Hidden Figures, as well as iconic series Empire.
Her performance in the film comes two years after she spoke out on the issue of inequality in pay for Hollywood’s women of colour.
‘I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost,’ she told Gayle King on SiriusXM Radio.
‘I’m tired of hearing my sisters saying the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, “You work a lot.” I have to – the math ain’t mathing.
‘And when you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don’t do this alone. The fact that we’re up here, there’s a whole entire team behind us. They have to get paid.
‘When you hear people saying, “Oh, such and such made $10m.” That didn’t make it to their account. Know that off the top, Uncle Sam is getting 50%. Do the math.
‘Now we have $5m – your team is getting 30% off of what you gross, not after what Uncle Sam took. Now do the math.’
As the interview went viral, fans and peers in the acting community shared messages of support.
‘Not a damn lie told. Not. A. Damn. Lie. We go TO BAT for the next generation and hell even our own generation and above,’ Gabrielle Union cheered in response.
‘We don’t hesitate to be the change that we all need to see AND it takes a toll on your mind, health, soul, and career if we’re keepn it [100]. [Love] u @tarajiphenson. [sic]’
‘We feel you, @tarajiphenson and we love you. It’s a fight we ALL are waging,’ Community star Yvette Nicole Brown agreed.
‘For ourselves and for the ones coming up after us. This mess sucks!’
This article was first published on June 8.
Straw is now streaming on Netflix.
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