Film Review: BRAZEN (2022): Mediocre Mystery Crime Romance Races to a Forced Finish

Brazen Review

Brazen (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Monika Mitchell, and starring Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Malachi Weir, Emilie Ullerup, Matthew Finlan, Alison Araya, Colleen Wheeler, David Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Barry Levy, Lossen Chambers, Aaron Paul Stewart, Jack Armstrong, Nikki Bryce, and Mitra Suri.

Brazen follows the standard popular trope by romance author Nora Roberts, on whose novel the movie is based. Had the filmmakers taken the time to invest some of the suspense her works are known for, this might have been brassier. Instead it leaps and bounds to a badly contrived finish.

Some of Ms. Roberts’ more vocal devotees have complimented her writing style in glowing terms as “loud.” Having read several of her “In Death” installments under her J. D. Robb pseudonym, this reviewer is inclined to agree. Her prose is vivid and engaging, and her narratives have a punchy, kinetic style that drives the plots’ more improbable aspects clean out of one’s mind.

By comparison, this energy is the sole characteristic that the novel and the film share, but in a disconcerting way. The scenes bounce along with such abrupt force that the effect is a little jarring, and the narrative feels seamy. The patchwork editing distracts from the real kick of good escapist fiction. Even the brief scenes of beautiful dominatrices on a sex-fantasy website seem disjointed and don’t add much heat to the plot.

The actors do well enough with the latitude their roles allow. Alyssa Milano brings depth whenever she can to the character of Grace, a famous mystery novelist visiting her sister, Kathleen (Emilie Ullerup). They don’t appear to share much sisterly affection, but Grace’s breakdown at Kathleen’s death has remarkable emotional power.

On the other hand, when she strikes up a romance with Kathleen’s neighbor, police detective Ed (Sam Page), there’s no real passion, only casual affection laced with banter, like friends with benefits. But by the same token, their tender scenes do pay off. While there are no fireworks, the intimacy they present strikes true; both look best when embracing. The few sparks between them don’t fly until they disagree. Appropriate to the genre, the road gets rough as they negotiate compromises when challenging traditional gender roles. (Grace wants equality and respect on her own terms; Ed wants to protect her, both as lover and cop.)

One strength of the film is the feminist subtext in which women must embrace solidarity to achieve empowerment, a cautionary message with regard to trust. This is made clear when Grace confronts police Captain Rivera (Alison Araya). This scene is crucial, despite its poor construction and questionable police procedure. Rivera dismisses Grace at first, but seconds later grants her full case access as a ‘consultant,’ in response to Grace’s claim of expertise from ‘intuition’ she developed as a crime fiction author. Conversely, consider Kathleen’s lack of trust in Grace, leading to her ultimate demise along with several of her carnal cohorts in a domino effect.

By contrast the men in this film (with the exception of Ed) get stereotyped according to their functions, controlling and/or patronizing, more or less held at a distance, as if on display: Ex-hubby and ‘connected’ rich-kid Jonathan (David Lewis) has all the marbles and keeps Kathleen on the brink of poverty; later, as a widower he dismisses Grace’s suspicions. Ed’s partner Ben (Malachi Weir) is a paragon of passive-aggression, alternately smug, disapproving, or dismissive. Paul Morgan (Barry Levy) controls his wrestling star son so tightly he practically prompts his son’s every word.

Senator Baxter (Colleen Wheeler) is an interesting hybrid. She might well represent the concept of traditional women’s lib taken to extreme. Evidently a single mother, she reflects the netherworld of male-dominated politics. Consequently she’s a fish out of water and imperious with everyone, including her son, Jerald (Matthew Finlan), on whom she dotes with fierce, icy formality.

The showdown between Grace and Jerald, for the most part, is especially disappointing. Grace’s baiting Jared seems more like therapy than confrontation, and Jared’s breakdown-cum-confession looks (and sounds) like a rich-kid style tantrum. The requisite knock-down-drag-out that follows, however, supervised by stunt coordinator Lauro Chartrand, is top-notch and provides a refreshing moment of suspense.

While it certainly has its moments, in the long run Brazen suffers from too much haste. As a result, the deeper themes fell through the cracks, and within the paradigm of romance films, is no more than mediocre.

Rating: 5/10

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