Tyler Perry Studios is gearing up for another film release– and it’s another thriller. This summer, Taraji P. Henson, Teyana Taylor, Sherri Shepherd, and more are set to star in Perry’s upcoming thriller, “Straw.”
According to Netflix, “Straw” is about “a single mother whose world unravels in chaos as her day goes from bad to worse to catastrophic as she struggles to care for her ill daughter. Pushed to the brink by a world that seems indifferent to her existence, she’s forced to confront impossible choices in a society that offers her no safety net.” Tapping into her character Janiyah’s struggles as a single mother was something she could relate to from experience.
“Janiyah is a woman who doesn’t have much in life, but she has a lot of love for her child,” Henson told Entertainment Weekly. “I’m a single mother, so I understood her journey and her struggles. She’s a single mother trying to make the best of the cards that she’s been dealt in life. She finds herself in a horrible situation where one of those days, you wake up and everything that could go wrong goes wrong. It’s about how she maneuvers through it.”
Noting how the film, “showcases how easy it is for people in a vulnerable position to be disregarded or disenfranchised by a system that is supposed to protect them,” Henson added:
“If you’re a struggling single mother, you can’t always pay for that regular lunch, and children who can’t afford that regular lunch get a separate lunch. And you know what happens then? Kids start teasing your kid. As parents, we feel our children’s pain deeper than them, and so that meant a lot to her. She’s like, ‘I just need to go make sure my baby eats the regular lunch so she’s not teased.’”
The film, which Henson says is filled with “some crazy twists and turns” that will take viewers by surprise, was reportedly filmed in four days while the actress was working on another project.
“To think we shot in four days while I was still working on ‘Fight Night,’” Henson explained. “But that’s what I like about Tyler Perry; he’s fast, and I can be fast, too. He knew he had a limited amount of time with me. He used it wisely…The subject matter is a bit dark, so I was happy to only live in this character’s world for four days, because that energy is transferable, and it kind of sticks with you. So I was happy to get in and get out real quick. And it was very different from any other character I’ve ever played.”
“Straw” is premiering on Netflix on June 6.
