ACRIMONY: a critical dissection of the movie

Keeping the relationship was the only choice, married-again could have been better, patience could have made things better between Robert and Melinda. Here is a critical dissection of the movie, Acrimony.

Life is a misery, if not handled well, it can make one’s life miserable. For instance, relationship is a concept many of us human find difficult to define; we assume, hallucinate and bend the concept to suit our context. Yes, it’s good to create our own reality, but things should measure up to a reliable outcome before we act.

Marriage is a bond that needs no spell to tie two persons together, but, once the bond is broken, the spell diminishes quickly. Marriage is primordial. It is ancient, it was, before we become, it’s the root of multiplication. Though, contemporarily many human are formed without this basis, but this fact still exist.

These were the two concepts I coined from the movie, "Acrimony", the dichotomy of where and when the bond of relationship and marriage begins to slack, independently.

Research have shown that, men are logical from time memorial (If for nothing, the fact that; Adam called Woman and not WoAdam, was plain logic), while women are emotionally strong (How could Eve had convinced Adam to eat a fruit he knew before her – because Adam must have received the instruction before Eve was created).

The movie is a questions of who gave Adam, Robert, the better apple.

The mightiness in every woman’s emotion can mar or make the universe, most times their own world – women are world makers, while men are creators. However, women still have greater say as to how man create. This is logic turn emotion.

The above should serve as an abstract for you to understanding my review. This review, is inspired by friends who wanted to know my stance on the movie. Being of two personalities, heart of a woman and mind of a man, this could be your most objective review.

I won't point fingers at any character, but, I will be discussing the "what if," "how" and "why," of the movie, Acrimony.

To start with, if you think Melinda was wrong and Robert was right, or Robert was wrong and Melinda was victimized — Ask yourself – What if the situation were to be the other way round (What if Robert made all the sacrifices and divorced her, before Melinda got rich), would your stance remain the same. Let’s have a critical dissection.

Robert according to the movie, is a nice guy. Whose temperament can be liken to that of a Melancholy. Melinda on the other hand, is a sacrificial goal oriented lady, a choleric. How both parties met was unusual. The movie didn’t waste time to tell us more about her temperament. At the incident that occurred in the rain, she hit Robert severally (for viewers like me, Melinda was portrayed as a hostile young lady, one who has been a victim of domestic violence).

Robert still acting the cool guy. He probably has been keeping an eye on Melinda, like most guys would do to a lady they’re connected to. He brought her note to her, and offered to render academic assistance, which she accepted. While, the viewers were made to understand that the feelings was mutual, Melinda told us how much she love his body (Of course, we heard about her ex-boyfriend through her sister, and we knew of Robert’s ex-girlfriend while he cheated on Melinda).

The dimensions were different, Robert never knew how serious things are between him and Melinda, not even after their first sex or after meeting her boyfriend, but after hurting her – why Melinda took things serious after their first sex (In a relationship, sex is beyond mere pleasure to a woman, than a man).

Few scenes later, I began to question few thoughts out of my soul. Did Melinda complete her studies, or she ended up a drop out. However, the movie was silent about that. From my discuss with few viewers, Melinda either sacrificed her fees for Robert, while some thinks, she didn’t take academics seriously like we saw in the movie. The impact of this is that, academics would have altered Melinda’s thinking, to help Robert get the battery deal.

Also, what if, Melinda had assisted Robert in getting the battery deal. What if she had gone the extra miles to be friends with insiders in the company. In same vein, what if Robert had picked the delivery job while working on his battery, Robert did bad on that. His insolence is quite unforgivable.

The divorce case was a turning point in the movie. Robert was perceived a cheat by Melinda, while viewers were made to believe it was falsehood. Melinda got burnt by her anger and this ruined her investments on her husband, her vision got blur – she stopped seeing the paradise Robert had promised her (One didn’t expect her to file a divorce when she did, the battery deal was looking almost real, but she was swayed by her sister’s influence, Brenda especially). Robert didn’t want the divorce. (Turning down the offer was brave, I have been to pitches, I know only a handful will turn down such deal in that situation).

Moments later, the deal was done. Although, Diana probably wouldn’t have assisted in the deal, if Robert won’t be hers, that’s a fallacy anyways, she did once already.

If Robert had gone back to Melinda, the debate would have been, "Robert used Diana to reach his goals." The overall concept of the movie has Robert in it, and whatever decision he made, he would be criticised. This is the misery men face in building a home and the risk women take in keeping their homes.

I will like to adopt the court’s position on the settlement offer to Melinda, Robert was fair, although he could have been fair enough to act unfairly to Diana, but he chose not to, her apple was sweet. But, the man instinct in him must have inspired his action; they had no child between them, Melinda forced the divorce not him, Melinda’s temperaments and all, are pointers for his decision.

While the movie itself was one sided, we only heard of Melinda’s narrative, have you thought about what Robert has to say, if asked his own side of the story (Did we ask– Why he didn’t go back Melinda after their divorce? Why he got her mother’s house and the USD10million? Why he wanted to give Melinda more money before, Diana said court was best? Why he threw his battery away before retrieving it? Why he didn’t reach out to Diana knowing she works in a related company before her promotion? Did we even ask him how much he loves Melinda? I hope the producers get to read this review, for a balanced perspectives from both major characters).

Overall, the movie is a good one, "Acrimony," from inferred meaning, portrayed Melinda as a victim of her mistakes, one can totally blame Robert if the title were to be “Treach·ery,” this implies that, the title of movie defines how it’s perceived. Every character in the movie sure had their fair share of "Acrimony."

Tomori Uriel is a writer, an editor and a public relations special, with interest in humanitarian volunteering and youth empowerment. He loves to review trends and uncover new insights in public matters (tomoriuriel1234@gmail.com, 07034503416)..