Teyana Taylor's Gritty 2025 Crime Thriller Is A Must-Watch On Netflix

Teyana Taylor had a banner 2025 with an outstanding turn in "One Battle After Another." The film's already sweeping award shows in the lead-up to the Oscars, and Taylor herself took home the Golden Globe for best performance by a female actor in a supporting role. Yes, "One Battle After Another" bombed at the box office, but the critical acclaim has been near universal. If you want to see more of Taylor in action, you should turn your attention to the Netflix crime thriller "Straw."

Tyler Perry has had thrillers kill it before on Netflix, and in 2025, he came back with "Straw." The film sees Janiyah Wiltkinson (Taraji P. Henson) have a really bad day, suffering from financial setbacks and the threat of having her daughter taken away from her. When she goes to the bank, she engages in one final desperate act to try and gain control of her life, having reached her last straw. 

Taylor plays Detective Kay Raymond in the film, who speaks with Janiyah over the phone as she's holding up the bank. Janiyah insists she didn't mean to threaten anyone and simply snapped after one bad day. Raymond's on the side of the law in stark contrast to Taylor's "One Battle After Another" character — Perfidia Beverly Hills — who's fighting with revolutionaries to dismantle the status quo. In 2025, Taylor proved she can do it all. 

There are shades of "Dog Day Afternoon," one of the best heist films ever, in "Straw." The audience spends a good amount of time with Janiyah before her inadvertent bank robbery, so we sympathize with her plight. In fact, Netflix's "Straw" might hit a little too close to home for those who have ever felt the weight of the world on their shoulders when all they want to do is take care of their family and pay the bills. Teyana Taylor and Taraji P. Henson are great together in this film as they develop a rapport, making it even sadder that it's a total stranger who finally listens to Janiyah and treats her like a human being. 

Taylor explained to "The Today Show" how it's critical to remember that everyone's fighting their own battles, and Black women, in particular, face difficulties catching a break from society. "We're all mothers and we're all Black women, and we already know that Black women are the least protected," Taylor said. "So I think this movie displayed Black women showing up for Black women, which was dope." 

"Straw" probably isn't going to win any awards, but Taylor could very well become an Oscar winner later this year for "One Battle After Another" if the Academy sees fit. Before that, Taylor has another Netflix film coming out on January 16: "The Rip," starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. She will be going back to her "Straw" roots here, as she's once again turning out as a cop – she plays Detective Numa Baptiste in the action thriller film.