Straw (2025) Ending Explained – Does Janiyah get her daughter back?
Straw Plot Summary
The story here predominantly centers on a single mother named Janiyah. She works two jobs, is eking out a living, can barely afford to pay rent on her dingy apartment, and is close to breaking point. Unfortunately, today is going to be the worst day of her life.
After dropping her daughter off at school, Janiyah finds herself in trouble with the police, fired from her job, and left on the street when she can't pay the overdue rent to her abrasive landlord.
Intervening in the middle of a robbery, Janiyah shoots the robber and then turns the gun on her boss and pulls the trigger. Heading to a nearby bank with her bloodied cheque, her backpack (including her daughter's science project, which looks suspiciously like a bomb), and a handgun, a stand-off ensues as police close in on her.
What's going on with Aria?
We soon learn across the movie that Aria suffers from seizures and has asthma. She also appears to be bullied at school (it's never outright said, but her teacher seems to hold a grudge against her) and is very much Janiyah's entire world. It doesn't help that she was born premature and without health insurance, its constantly been an uphill battle for her as a single mother.
Janiyah talks about her situation, and her speech is broadcast out across the nation. Everybody empathizes with her plight and even the landlord listens, although she's clearly behind on rent given the earlier eviction notices on the counter we saw earlier in the movie.
What happens during negotiations?
Raymond gets emotional during her negotiations with Janiyah, ignoring everyone and deciding to talk about her own situation. She empathizes with her as a single mother herself and hope it works out for her.
Unfortunately, the FBI rock up outside just as groups carrying placards reading 'Free Janiyah' also arrive. The FBI are led by a man named Bryce, who attempts to strong-arm the situation and force Janiyah out the bank.
Officer Sam is here and tells Raymond about the earlier incident on the road. Near the beginning of the film, Officers Sam and Oliver stopped Janiyah over an expired licence but Oliver also hit her on the road too. Oliver is the one responsible for taking Janiyah's car away.
What's the twist?
Raymond decides to approach the bank before Bryce and his men can force their way in and shows off the picture of Officer Oliver, a man who is going to be reprimanded for his part to play in this.
All the hostages inside the bank are let go, while Nicole, the bank manager, decides to stay and wait with Janiyah. Janiyah's phone turns back on here and the FBI arrive with her mum. She rings and has awful news. Aria is dead. She had a seizure and died at the hospital the previous night. So the whole time Janiyah has been imagining Aria. The phone call at work was about overdue debts, the school were confused over her arriving, and working on the science project appears to be a coping mechanism.
Janiyah finally realizes the truth, and she comes out with Nicole to face the police. She's bundled in the back of a police car and taken away, ready to face murder and hostage charges.
What will happen to Janiyah?
In the end, Janiyah winds up succumbing to her grief, with the twist at the end involving Aria clearly obscured from all of us and not used during negotiations for some reason. Given the police would have found out earlier about Aria's death, they could have used this as a negotiation tool and tried to get Janiyah out of the bank this way
By the time the final credits roll, the disenfranchised are out in support of Janiyah but unfortunately it's unlikely to be a happy ending for our protagonist. She still killed two people, held hostages against their will and clearly needs psychiatric care. There's also video footage of all of this so no matter what way you slice it, she's going to be behind bars for a while.
Unfortunately, this is a bad ending for a woman experiencing the worst day of her life.
Read More: Straw Movie Review
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