MOVIE REVIEW (ACRIMONY by Tyler Perry) PT 2

So in my previous post, I wrote about Melinda. Here, I'll be focusing on the the rest of the characters in ACRIMONY.

Robert: First of; I must confess that Robert is persistent, consistent and a relentless dream chaser. For someone who has been continuously rejected for over eighteen years, I must say that unlike Melinda, his wife, he is one hell of a strong being both psychologically and emotionally.  However, I'll still state that Robert was a weak man. Yes! He was pathetically weak! He took advantage of Melinda. He was fully aware of the depth of her love for him, he knew that she would go to any mile to please him so he conveniently settled into the role of the poor orphan who needs help, love and care and when he found himself a young woman like Melinda who was comfortable with playing the role of provider, he tagged along with promises of a better life which when it eventually came, he didn't think twice about closing that chapter of his life that reminded him of his past where he had to be the leech. He was too quick to adjust into his new role of being the billionaire with the best house, yacht, cars, and wife; all of which he had continuously promised Melinda for eighteen years.

Although, he loved Melinda, I must confess that Robert was selfish. Jeez! He is manipulative which is evident in the way he got Melinda to spend all of her inheritance in getting him a car, supporting his research/ battery invention. He didn't have to ask, all he had to do was to paint a sorry picture of him losing years of his "hard work" or a perfect picture of both of them living in a pent house, driving the best cars, going on yacht cruises, him buying her a diamond ring and all the best things of life. He had her "mumu button" and he subtly pressed it for 18 years.

For me, the cheat scene which led to Melinda's accident was quite significant in the movie. What I saw at that point was what Robert was capable of doing when he turned wealthy and I think the young Melinda at that point saw that as well which was what triggered her temper into causing the accident that cost her her womb.

Robert truly loves his wife as he proved it by not cheating on her for eighteen years, but his fault is that he allowed his obsession with his battery/dream to cause a strain in his relationship with his wife. The least he could do since he couldn't get a great job and support her financially was to give her all the emotional support she needed but instead, he starved her sexually for months. Then when he became wealthy, he tries to clear his conscience by gifting her a $10 million check and her mother's house she had invested in his dream. How convenient! For me, that was the height of selfishness! And then some of you were saying, "Melinda should have just walked away and built a life with the $10 million bla bla ba ..." WOW! How does that work out? Melinda's life is Robert! How was she supposed to build something she didn't have? Robert knew that Melinda wanted him back but he was comfortable staying away from the past that reminded him of his days of lack as a man.

Finally, what killed me that Robert did was, he had to go and marry Diana, the same girl he cheated on Melinda with. That not being enough, he gave her ALL the things he promised Melinda and a child even. I mean, for God's sake! Come on man! That was evil! Yeah, some of you will whine and say that "oh! but Diana was there for him when Melinda gave up on him. yen yen yen yen..." So f**king what?! I say! Melinda stood by him at his lowest for eighteen damn years! She gave him eighteen years of countless chances to become the genius he envisioned  for himself, for them. Yes he was relentless with his dream but he gave up on their love long before Melinda divorced him. Why couldn't he just give her another chance? Instead, he had easily moved on with Diana.

Let's be real. You see that life Robert kept promising Melinda, it wasn't tailored specifically for her. He created that life for himself and any other woman that would be available to share it with him when it came to reality. My conclusion on Robert is, he's strong willed but weak and selfish in character.

Diana: She was Robert's past one night stand who didn't even know she was a side chick. She's beautiful, classy and smart. But this is what I think of her. Owing to how she and Robert parted ways in the past, she was bent on not helping him set up a meeting with Mr. Preston whom he had been trying to see for eighteen years. She even went as far as asking the security of the building to call him and warn him not to come within inches of the premises anymore. But then her interest in him was rekindled again when she started watching videos of him and Melinda talking about their love for his wife and his Gayle Force Battery. During those moments, she became obsessed with the thought of being Mrs. Gayle.

Let's be honest, that look wasn't a look of  "oh! this man is smart. I believe in him" No way! She wanted him back and she knew Melinda's weak point. So, she feigned forgetfulness and left her purse in his truck knowing fully well that it will be found somehow by Melinda. It happened eventually and when through her help Robert gets his deal with Preston, she didn't waste anytime taking him in, getting pregnant and becoming Mrs. Robert Gayle.

She is  an opportunist. This is evident when she said to Robert "... when people leave your life, maybe you're supposed to let them go...". Those words came at the right time cos that was exactly the conviction that Robert needed to justify himself that he didn't need Melinda anymore. She gave him the illusion that he was safer with her. And seeing that it worked, Diana ensured he got the deal which sealed her own fate too. I mean, the look on her face when she introduced herself to Melinda said it all; "I won Bitch! I got the diamond and your trophy of a husband whom you almost killed me for years back!". And to rub it in, she had to show Melinda her diamond engagement ring first before turning her hand for the handshake. How savage can a woman get! She also had to rub it in that she was pregnant during their court session.

My thoughts about Diana; she saw an opportunity to get back at Melinda and she used it richly to get EVERYTHING Melinda would have had.

Brenda: She's Melinda's oldest sister and the mother figure of the three siblings after their parent's demise. Now; Brenda is loud, a snob and that one sibling you never want to interfere in your marriage or relationship. She was the first to write off Robert as a low lifer and the second to quickly admit when he struck gold, that she knew he was destined for great things. Check out the power of money in action there!

Although, she was right to some extent about him getting a job but she was disrespectful to Robert at every given opportunity which is wrong! In-laws! Nobody deserves the way she addressed Robert in ACRIMONY. She was too extra and she caused the divorce between the couple because she knew how hot tempered Melinda was and thus she wasted no time in going to Melinda's office to report the found purse! smh


My Conclusion

This movie is for everyone (18 years above). ACRIMONY isn't just a movie; it is a reality, a bitter one that exists in this here society and the world over. Tyler Perry has succeeded in capturing the intricacies of a typical flawed relationship and the fact that he left a blank slate for everyone to fill with their own thoughts about the movie is the icing on the cake for me. Tyler leaves a take home lesson for everyone so, I'm gonna list briefly some of the lessons I learnt out of the many lessons he shared.

1. Be consistent, persistent and strong willed just like Robert. Dreams do come true!
2. Never stop believing in yourself.
3. Never stop investing in yourself like Melinda. She gave up on herself development and invested all of her life, time, emotions, and strength for Robert hoping that he would lift her up which never happened. Bad decision!
4. Relationships shouldn't be parasitical
5. A man should man up, take responsibility and stop settling.
6. Women, you can't be the man in your marriage /relationship. You can only assist but you just can't. It's not your duty and it's not your role. Don't spoon feed your man. Allow him the space to man up!
7. Siblings/family interference in your relationship isn't always unhealthy for relationships/marriages. This is not to reject advise from family cos of course, they care but it should be to a minimum
8. Always stand up for your spouse. Defend them. Their honor is yours too.
9. Selfishness will only ruin you and not elevate you. Robert got the life he wanted, riding on the wings of selfishness but his ordeal with Melinda in the end will leave him a scar for life (that's if he lives to tell his story)
10. The fruit of anger is death in different ways. Melinda's anger cost her her womb, her marriage, her self esteem, her sanity and eventually her life.

As usual, this is me FRANKLY SPEAKING. If you have anything contrary to my thoughts, do not hesitate to comment below.

Cheers!

Now I can breathe.

MOVIE REVIEW (ACRIMONY by Tyler Perry) PT 1

I've had a love hate relationship with Hollywood's genius story teller, writer, director and producer Tyler Perry. My love for him started from the year of Diary of a Mad Black Woman. I can swear I've seen that movie a hundred times (I'm serious). I was smitten by Kimberly Elise who played the role of Helen and Tyler Perry's alter egos of course, Madea and Joe. However, my love for Tyler waned when he started the Madea trend. I got bored. It was too much comedy coming from one source who wasn't supposed to be too funny for me. I felt he had lost the Tyler's magic until I started watching his series; Too Close to Home and I felt, "Ok... maybe he's coming around" but I stll wasn't convinced that Tyler Perry still had that magic that made him stand out until I watched his latest movie, ACRIMONY which he starred Empire's no nonsense Queen, Tajaji P. Henson as well as other new faces.

When I saw the thriller, I knew I had to watch the movie. I just did finally and I'm pissed.
........................

Synopsis (from my point of view)

Acrimony is a movie about love gone sour, turned hate and vindictiveness. Tyler Perry tells the love story of two people whose relationship evolved from a young parasitical love to a toxic relationship. In the movie, we see how young Melinda, an average student invested her inheritance in advancing the dreams of her boyfriend, Robert. Robert is an orphan surviving on the grace of his school's partial scholarship and as a young man who has nobody's affection to survive on, he feeds off Melindas'.

Melinda on the other hand saw Robert as the Rock she never had in her Mom who died soon after they met. Thus, riding on the winds of gullibility and naivete she nurtured their relationship just as expected of any faithful and loyal spouse.

My general opinion about ACRIMONY
EVERYONE was selfish in the movie. EVERYONE is to blame for everything that happened in the movie.

My Thoughts About the Characters

MELINDA: I see her as a strong black woman who grew up before her time and even as a young woman who had lost the care of her not so encouraging Mom, she learnt quite too early to take care of not herself but another male human which was something alien to her. Her flaw is her anger and that led her to losing her womb when she took a death drive into Robert's trailer house the night she caught him cheating on her.

I define Melinda's love for Robert from the onset as gullible and naive. She proves her love for him in her own way by investing all the money she inherited from her dead parents and even her mother's house in his "Battery" dream. It didn't help that Robert knew her weakness and richly capitalized on it. All he had to do was to whine about something without asking directly and she would oblige him immediately. I feel like she was trying too hard to please him and in the process, she started playing the role of God in his life. Because she had the resources to assist him finish school, buy him a car (which I felt wasn't necessary), and also carry the home when they got married.

Despite her Sister's warnings about him being a gold digger who was using her to build his future, she stuck to him, believed in him, in his dreams and in their love.

In my opinion, Melinda is responsible for how she ended. LADIES! Allow your man to be The man! Let him provide for you and protect you as a man should. If you claim to be in a relationship with a man, you can only assist him to some extent but whilst doing that, don't forget to encourage him to get a paying job. I feel like Melinda overdid it! Yes, she loved Robert, Yes she believed in his dreams but why did she wait for 18 years to get really mad again?  Why did she allow her sisters to talk down on her man? Her husband? She allowed them to disrespect him at at every opportunity they had without defending him outright. She allowed her sisters to trample on Robert's ego just because he was unemployed and for me, that is inexcusable. Ladies, it is your responsibility to protect your man's ego. You should never allow anyone talk down on your man cos a man's ego is like his life. Once trampled, they become faceless.

The fact is, Melinda's gullibility grew up with her and her marriage and after 18 years of working several jobs to support her husband, she allowed her sisters to influence her decision into divorcing him. I understand the fact that she was at her her wit's end, she was spent and exhausted emotionally, mentally and physically. She had lost her youthful years in giving her all to the one man she loved, to saving her marriage and it didn't help the fact that he wasn't sexually attracted to her anymore despite all of her sacrifices for him. But my pain is, Melinda knew that Robert would never cheat on her again but she used her Sister's accusation that  Robert was cheating on her with Diana as an excuse to kick him out of her house, her life. The question is, why did she wait that long to finally take a stand? Why did she stop believing in Robert?

But I still commend her character. Call her crazy, deranged, impatient, vindictive, evil and all what not, I feel her actions to some extent are justified. (Kill me but I won't change my thoughts). Any woman who's gone through what she went through could do worse. Some people would consider suicide and let's not forget that she lost her womb in her self inflicted accident just two days after she bought him a new car worth over $300,000 as a young girl that she was and he was stupid enough to go cheat on her. So I totally understand why she lost her mind in the end.

Melinda lost everything via the influence of her sisters and her temper. It was tougher for her to deal with because, she lost out to the same woman that indirectly caused her to lose her womb in her self inflicted accident! And I know the question that would have been ringing in her head was, "Why her? Why did Robert have to marry Diana of all the women in America?"

Melinda had her faults but for me, she was strong. Not all women can hang in there. FRANKLY SPEAKING, Melinda was tough in character but weak at heart.

I'll stop here and continue in my next post.
Feel free to COMMENT and SHARE.

SOPHIA'S 1,000 VOICES

The cold tiles of the room sent shock waves up her bum to her spine and then her brain but her mind was just too numb to feel anything. Her mind was crowded causing a standstill traffic for her nerves to feel anything; her head was a symphony of a thousand voices, all of them talking at the same time. She could hear all but she couldn't listen to what each was saying.

She wanted a life for herself, a not so luxurious life but just a life that she could define as one befitting of a young single woman. She wanted a life that didn't require her to sell her sanity in exchange for comfort. A life that didn't demand of her to trade her self esteem. A life that didn't cajole her into the den of lecherous ogling eyes and tongues.

Sophia stood up and walked to her mirror. She loved her mirror. She loved it because, whenever she looked into it, she saw her mind. It wasn't just a mirror; it wasn't mystical either. It was indeed a mirror to her soul. She loved it because it knew how to comfort her with the fact that she wasn't ordinary. Without words, it told her that she was unique, different and weird.

Standing there, she thought about her major problem; regaining sanity.

She thought out loud to herself, "Sanity is priceless, sanity is expensive, sanity comes at a price and sanity could be lost if not secured" In her case, she was at the verge of losing hers and she was fighting so hard to protect what remained of it. "How exhausting" she sighed.


She dragged out her shisha pot from the side of her bed. She added her usual mixture, lit it up and took a long drag from it before puffing out the aromatic substance. With eyes half closed, her senses reeling with gratitude for finding release, she sank to the floor again; her pipe in her hand. She took another drag, exhaled, another drag, exhaled and another and another again until the only thing she could see was the fog that had clouded the room. Then she started smiling. It wasn't a smile of contentment; it was a smile that came in place of the tears that had maliciously stayed stuck to her tear glands, teasing her eyes but refusing to let go with dignity.

Sophia looked at the pipe which had turned her companion overtime and said to it;

"For every human is a being with a thousand voices saying, telling, yelling, soothing, warning, cajoling, advising, scolding, sweet talking but rarely listening because we do the listening. We were created to be the listeners"

The pipe slipped from her grip and slowly, she crawled into her bed  and held on tight to her pillow like the sanity she's fighting to secure.