Taraji P. Henson and Lyriq Bent star in a scene from the movie "Acrimony." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/Lionsgate)

By Catholic News Service

Lurid drama about an apparently long-suffering wife (Ajiona Alexus in youth, Taraji P. Henson in maturity) whose ne’er-do-well inventor husband (first Antonio Madison, later Lyriq Bent) runs through the sizable inheritance she received from her mother, then endangers the family home she was also allotted in Mom’s will. But the end of her patience and a change in his fortunes coincide in a way that unleashes her usually suppressed yet extreme mean streak, sending her on a vengeful rampage.

Writer-director Tyler Perry pulls out all the stops in an initially wild, ultimately over-the-top tale that plays on the divide between perception and reality but emphasizes passion-driven spectacle over insight or believability. The treatment of sexuality is as unbridled as all the other aspects of his film.

Scenes of gory violence, strong sexual content, including brief graphic nonmarital activity and rear nudity, a divorce theme, frequent mild oaths, numerous rough terms, pervasive crude and crass language. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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