Respond to these rapid questions in our Acrimony quiz and we will tell you which Acrimony character you are. Play it now.
Taraji P. Henson is deserving of a better life. Through her performances as the heroine in “Hidden Figures” and as the anti-hero on “Empire,” she has more than proven herself deserving of award-winning roles. However, in this Tyler Perry film, she portrays a deranged black woman whose uncontrollable rage is a well-known danger to her own safety as well as the safety of others. Although her character speaks out against stereotypes of angry black women, this does not rule out the possibility that she is a walking cliché herself. Perry was fortunate in that Henson was capable of reading a dictionary and making it entertaining.
To set the tone for the story, a dictionary definition of the title is displayed on the screen, which serves to accentuate the feelings of bitterness and anger. The film begins with a brief and stilted court scene, during which Melinda (Henson) is smoking and talking to the camera in the spot where an unseen psychiatrist should be sitting. Using voiceover, she tells the story of the man (Lyriq Bent) who stole her love, money, and mother’s home from her in order to pursue his personal science project. Just when they think they’ve reached rock bottom, his fortune changes, and Melinda finds herself unable to let go of the past. Her rage consumes her, little by little, as time goes on.
Henson is no stranger to Perry’s penchant for dramatics, having previously collaborated with him on films such as “I Can Do Bad All by Myself” and “The Family That Preys,” among other projects. The author takes pleasure in her characters’ mood swings, which range from cold and calculating to a fury of screaming and near-insanity in the novel “Acrimony.” In one particularly memorable scene, she is enraged with the man who has come into her life. She does nothing but sit in a chair with her legs crossed and take long drags from a cigarette while conversing with a friend. While she watches the plumes of smoke dissipate in front of her, it appears as though she is burning from the inside out, ready to blow up at any moment. Hell hath no fury like Henson’s when he’s been scorned. We’re supposed to root for her in her quest for vengeance… to a point.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Acrimony quiz.
A point is important to Perry in his morality plays, and he prefers it when good Christians are rewarded and bad people in life receive what is coming to them. In the song “Acrimony,” his message is muddled. For the woman who becomes blind as a result of her rage and obsession, punishment is in store, but she is a woman who requires assistance rather than judgment. She’s in therapy because a judge ordered her to be there. “Have you ever heard of Borderline Personality Disorder?” the shrink casually inquires as she walks out the door. Perry dismisses it, preferring instead for the story to reach a melodramatic crescendo. Even the people in the audience at my screening didn’t believe it. “Is that it?!” some people exclaimed as the credits began to roll on the television. A man in my row was smirking and telling his date that Melinda deserved what happened to her, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Acrimony Quiz
I’m not convinced she received a fair trial, your honor. In addition, no matter how jumbled Melinda’s story is, it makes a lot more sense than some of the visual elements in “Acrimony.” The film appears to have been filtered through a purple filter, which has washed out a number of key scenes. Because the projector in my screening still had the dreaded 3D lens turned on, the movie appeared even darker than Perry had intended it to be. The first time a check for a significant amount of money was displayed on the screen, it was so blurry that a member of the audience inquired whether anyone could make out the number. Only one person responded with the phrase “It has a lot of zeros!” Every now and then, the low-budget production values appear to remind you that you’re watching an excessively long episode of a daytime television soap opera. In addition to poor use of green screens and actors who appear underprepared, there is enough drone footage of the Pittsburgh waterfront to serve as a travel advertisement.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Acrimony quiz.
Is it our responsibility to root for the wronged woman, or was her poor husband simply unlucky in love? I’m not sure the movie knows what it wants to say because it’s wracked by so much internal conflict. Perry’s treatment of his morally ambiguous character appears to be excessive, and if Melinda is suffering from mental illness, Perry’s treatment of her is cruel. Henson will continue, and I am hopeful that she will find a better director in the future.
For more personality quizzes check this: Hereditary Quiz.
