There are good movies that, in detail, discuss the dynamics of a married couple that have been in a relationship for a long time. It goes into detail about the challenges they face as a long-term couple. The trials and tribulations are what make or break them. Blue Valentine, Revolutionary Road, and Marriage Story are some of the finest examples of how filmmakers can portray the intimacy shared by a couple who are on the verge of breaking up. Actor/Director Tyler Perry’s new directorial venture on Amazon Prime Video, Divorce in the Black, is probably the antithesis of what the above-mentioned movies represent. Released on the streaming platform on July 11, 2024, the movie captures the unstable relationship between Ava and her husband, Dallas.
Ava is a successful banker and has been married to Dallas for many years. Dallas comes from a family of criminals and has an emotionally abusive mother who never accepted Ava as a part of the family. Ava was in love with him, but Dallas was forced to choose between his family and hers, and this led to him having a hard time being in the marriage. Dallas begins to complain about the changes Ava wants him to make, and this constant bickering culminates in him asking for a divorce. Ava was devastated, but she had the support of her parents, especially her father, who is a pastor at a local church. Her family and friends are glad the breakup happened, as most of them are aware of who was at fault in this relationship. Was Ava agreeing to the divorce? Does Dallas start to act possessive and jealous? Are there any repercussions to Dallas’ actions?
Divorce in the Black has to be one of the most abysmal pieces of content to have made an appearance on an OTT channel. There is no decent start to the film, and the maker does not bother to establish any baseline on which we can understand where the lead characters stand. The movie begins with a full-blown argument between two families, and it is only noise. The dialogue is not being delivered with emotion; instead, the actors are adding to the chaos and just yelling at each other. The lack of a decent start only confuses the audience, as the filmmaker takes time to establish if the husband is the problematic one or the wife. Melodrama is the byword of the movie because all the lead and supporting characters in the film do is cry incessantly. There is a narrative of Ava coming back home after her husband ended their marriage. Before and after this crucial point of the film, there is nothing but the lead and the supporting actors sobbing. Ava is shedding tears over a marriage to which she gave everything, but Dallas never appreciated. After the separation, Ava and her mother wept over her getting out of a toxic marriage. It is titillating to be introducing such scenes that do not have any emotional impact.Â
The issue lies in the fact that there is a lot of beating around the bush when it comes to describing the narrative around Ava and her marriage. Instead of investing in an emotional screenplay, there are only the non-stop tears just pouring and pouring out their eyes, which lack basic human emotion to begin with. We wish more time was spent with Rona and Jim, the happily married couple who had their ups and downs in the past. Rona is a great friend to Ava; their friendship should have been given more time to explore their dynamic. Rona is a great friend, and the female friendship she shared with Ava could have been something different if the writer/director had explored it in depth. The fact is that the narrative is very inconclusive right from the start, as there is no mention of Ava being in a toxic marriage initially. Another concern regarding the screenplay has to be the preachy treatment of the narrative.Every supporting character is only in the mood to preach and advise Ava which is tiresome to watch. The amount of time the screenplay spends on Ava conversing with her parents, this subplot feels like a stuck record on a turntable, and it feels like there is no end to Ava and her parents wallowing over her awful marriage.
The makers also handle the breakup of the marriage in a shoddy manner. Dallas walks in and out of the shot, and it only detracts from the viewing experience as there is no connection between scenes. The screenplay is very shaky, and there is no smooth-flowing quality to it. Director Tyler Perry constantly jumps from one scene to another. Also, the subplot about Ava trying to defend her reason for being in the marriage is a bit overkill.
The transition from Ava fighting for her marriage to becoming a woman who cannot wait to get divorced is sudden; there are unfulfilled gaps in her character arc. The screenplay and the messaging are problematic. There is a lot of concern regarding the narrative of people taking up violence instead of letting the law take its course. The idea of a woman taking charge of her life to put people who abused her on the back foot is good, but on execution, it felt shallow and too cliched. It somehow also glorifies gun violence, as there is no end to weapon-related deaths in the US. Tyler Perry could not help but imply the idea that a gun is required in every home. There are also cliche plot lines about family secrets and an old lover coming back into people’s lives, which makes the film very predictable. The direction of the film is just plain awkward, and there is no rising above mediocrity for Tyler Perry in this film. Most of the scenes feel like actors acting and not living the role, which makes the viewing experience boring. Tyler Perry, through this film, is trying to showcase the right kind of intent. It is only the execution that ends up being shoddy, and the borderline did a lazy job with the screenplay. The dialogue is tacky, and it feels like it has been borrowed from sappy romantic drama novels, and none of them seem genuine. The production design and the makeup work are awful.
The performances of the actors are plain bad. Cory Hardrict as Dallas is not good to watch in the movie as the emotionally and physically abusive husband. He is sleepwalking through every scene with zero intensity in his eyes and body language. Meagan Good, as Ava does not emote which is a distressing to watch from the start till the end. The performances of the supporting actors are just forgettable. Taylor Polidore Williams as Rona is the only saving grace of the film; she can communicate the hatred she has for Dallas for putting Ava through years of trauma. Sadly, Rona’s character is given only surface-level emotions to work with. There is no emotion felt, which is sad, as such talented actors could have if the direction was just normal and not over the top (OTT).
Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black is a lost opportunity that could have explored the relationship dynamics found in African American communities. The tacky treatment of the subject matter only makes the movie plain bizarre.
