Tyler Perry's 'A Fall From Grace' on Netflix dishes out much of the same fare and it gets tiresome
A divorce, a surprise second love and a devastating discovery. Netflix's new feature film, 'A Fall From Grace' has all the ingredients for a risqué and raunchy thriller, only if the filmmaker knew how to size up the right amount. Sadly, the two-hour-long suspense drama turns out to be just another bad cocktail.
Not just the director but an actor, writer, producer and comedian, Tyler Perry dons many hats. Giving up one of them could have turned out to be a saving grace for his latest film that was filmed in five days last December. For now, the only saving grace is the lead actress Crystal Fox. Isn't it odd that her character is called Grace too? The only good thing about the movie is Fox's narration and her alluring voice that will attract you to the story more than it should.
Divorced Grace Waters (Fox) finds new love. Her young, second husband Shannon (Mehcad Brooks) seems wonderful in the beginning but starts a new chapter of deceit, secrets, and lies, soon after. Grace finds out Shannon has mortgaged her house and robbed $379,000 dollars from her bank account.
If that was not enough, the downtrodden protagonist is charged for the murder of her husband. A rookie lawyer Jasmine Bryant (Bresha Webb) takes her case and is hellbent to bring justice. While it does have a few good moments, the film becomes a sloppy drama far too soon with too many twists to count. Like a drab soap opera, it endlessly wiggles around the plot in a desperate attempt to add a few shocks.
What's sad is that a story that had potential dies a slow death, thanks to the middling performances, boring dialogues, and soulless frames. What's more, the courtroom theatrics are quite ridiculous and even Perry's character, Rory, who bosses around the young lawyer Jasmine, disappoints in a flailing debacle.
In the end, there is a major revelation when Grace's best friend, Sarah (Phylicia Rashad), turns out to her second husband's mother and the husband isn't dead. Ha! As if no one could have predicted that twist in the game. Well, that's not all. Turns out, the mother-son duo have been kidnapping elderly women to steal their money and have held them hostage, chained on the top floor of Sarah's house.
Perry needs to understand that building repetitive stories around women's struggle with chauvinism and infidelity has already lost its charm. The formulaic script rushed acting and dud dialogues will leave you yawning in no time. If you have nothing better to watch, you can try your hand at this thriller-drama that deserves no more than two stars.