THE NEW YORK TIMES

Damiela Thomas 

Professor Katie 

English 160-28

10/4/21 

LOVE AND BITTERNESS

The word ‘love’ can either make or break you. Everyone has their own story about love and may not be special to you but to that person. Whatever, we ask “What is love?” it reflects back to us wondering “Am I loved?” or “How do I love?” We get this strong feeling in our guts that we later cannot control. Love is most times hard to define and understand. It is what singers sing about, what authors write about, what babies develop from their mothers and what philosophers question about. We will do anything for the person we truly love. What happens after you love this person but end up breaking up with you? That’s when we developed this new feeling of bitterness. It starts out quite small and drowns deep into our hearts. We often asked “how could you do this to me?” and “What must we do without this person?” We replay what happened over and over in our minds. We call our best friends and feed them the information in detail hoping they listen and understand. Then anger knocks and comes in. We cringe when someone says their name. We run at full speed the other way when that person is coming. We leave when that person suddenly enters. We look for ways to dislike that person after what that person did.

Tyler Perry, Acrimony is about a couple who met in college and fell deeply in love. Melinda worked and will do anything for her husband. While Robert didn’t, he had this dream that never happened. And so, she got tired of it and eventually got an divorce but something sparked where his dream finally took off and she felt betrayed. Melinda watched his new fiancee live the life that they had planned which drove her over the top where she developed the mindset of getting her back. The movie unfolds in layers but is told from Melinda’s perspective where it begins with her having a therapy session until the audience gets the opportunity to make their own decision on who side to take once they see what really happened at the end. 

The movie has a special style to it, a unique rhythm, a dark lightning effect, and had a whole different field from other movies I watched and from even Tyler Perry himself in order to portray the story. When viewers watch the film, they may not know who the protagonist is nor the antagonist but still takes them on a journey. The choice of music spoke volume where it builds suspense and brings out emotions and actions to the characters. 

Acrimony is one of my favorite movies and it hits the elements in this specific relationship. It explores what happens when people cannot let go of a relationship although they have been betrayed or even if they weren’t betrayed. And so, I myself experienced this in past relationships of my own and even encountered people who dealt with it as well. It teaches real life lessons that young people and adults should learn whether it’s within themselves, relationships or friendships.

There are two sides to a story and the truth is one of the themes the movie leaves its audience with. Most people don’t tell the truth when it comes to themselves. And in Melinda’s mind this is exactly how everything went in the relationship as she narrates the story where you feel as though she is telling the truth. And unfortunately I happen to encounter a lot of people just like her. Even for myself, when I was younger, my brothers and I would get in little fights and so mommy would call us to work it out and I would convince her that what I was saying was the truth and this was what really happened. In addition, the audience can find themselves relating to both characters. Robert is disbelieving that his dream is going to come true which we can reflect in our own lives that we can often give up on our dreams and plans because it looks as though it won’t come through. But his dream eventually came true and it shows us that we shouldn’t give up on what we do nor on our dreams because they can all come through one day. As for Melinda, Most females can say they experienced a heartbreak where the situation didn’t end very well whether it’s being taken advantage of or dealt with cheating. There is this moment where you snap and feel as though since you did this to me, it’s my turn to do something to you back because of the saying, “hurt people, hurt people.” But the big message is just letting it go.  Furthermore, it teaches us to be honest and communicate in our relationships and not hear the voices of others like Melinda’s sisters and outsiders of the relationship. And so, maybe Melinda and Robert’s marriage would have gone differently. 

To conclude, I encourage you to watch the movie Acrimony because it is a great movie and is entertaining to see what unfolds from beginning to end. Which character’s side would you be on after you finish watching it?