'Brazen' Review: Alyssa Milano's Netflix crime thriller is slick and entertaining
Netflix has an abundance of amazing crime thriller movies and they keep expanding their catalog with intriguing titles. One of the movies that fans have been eagerly waiting for is none other than ‘Brazen’. Based on the novel ‘Brazen Virtue’ written by Nora Roberts, the thriller movie sees crime expert and author Grace Miller (Alyssa Milano) trying to find the killer of her sister. However, things go haywire when the killer doesn’t stop and starts killing other women as well.
Will she be able to find her? And how would she react when she would get to know a shocking secret about her sister’s life. That’s the main premise of the Netflix movie. Initially, you’ll think that the plot might have nothing new to offer in this genre, and in a way, you are right. However, as soon as the film gets into its element, you are immediately hooked. The movie doesn’t complicate things and it manages to take viewers with the flow as the mystery gets even more intense.
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The movie starts with Miller having a public reading of her book ‘Brazen Virtue’. As soon as she is finished with the event, she gets a phone call from her sister Kathleen (Emilie Ullerup) and she takes a flight to Washington. She visits and we get to know what kind of relationship they share. Grace’s sister is doing well in life after getting divorced and losing her child. Her husband doesn’t want their child to meet and she wants to go for full custody. But her husband is rich and has good connections, so she’s planning to blackmail him by revealing that he’s doing fraud.
On the other hand, Grace meets a man named Ed Jennings, who’s a detective, and is famous for solving dangerous crimes. They bond over Grace’s book and go out for a dinner. Elsewhere, Grace’s sister gets a phone call to do something. That’s when we get to know that she’s working as a webcam model for a company called Fantasy Inc. and earning good money. However, her session that day ended with murder as she is killed in her him by a masked man. Grace returns home after the romantic date and sees her body in the bedroom. She calls Ed and immediately the entire place is filled with police officers.
The mystery intensifies when we see more murders taking place and everyone one of them is a webcam model for Fantasy Inc. So, we have a serial killer on the loose. During the investigation, we also meet shady characters like Billy (Aaron Paul Stewart), who knew the reality of Kathleen and followed her secretly. The introduction of these characters makes the movie interesting as you are always guessing who could be the murderer.
As far as acting is concerned, Alyssa Milano has given a stellar performance as Grace. Her character is strong-headed and doesn’t shy away from taking on dangerous situations. Seeing Milano in a feature film for the first time since 2018 was exciting and she gives her fans something to cherish with her incredible performance.
On the other hand, Sam Page is amazing as Ed and always keeps you glued to your screens with her layered performance. Another actor who has given a great performance is Malachi Weir. Weir portrays the character of Ben and shares a good camaraderie with Sam in the movie.
Colleen Wheeler and Matthew Finlan have done impeccable jobs in their respective roles. Finlan’s performance as Jerald would surely be applauded by everyone. Aaron Paul Stewart as Billy is brilliant as well.
Filmmaker Monika Mitchell is known for directing two episodes of the Netflix series ‘Virgin River’ and with ‘Brazen’ she has shown what she’s capable of. Turning a novel into a movie is never easy, but Mitchell has done a great job in giving us a slick crime thriller that has enough juice for everyone.
As a whole, ‘Brazen’ is an enjoyable crime thriller that’s led by an extraordinary performance by Milano and a good storyline. The movie might not be one of the best, but it is surely worth your time.
‘Brazen’ is currently streaming on Netflix.