REVIEW: Brazen Lacks the Chemistry Needed for a Nora Roberts Adaptation
Author, Nora Roberts has been a staple in the romance novel world for decades. Having written over 225 novels, a number of Roberts’ novels have seen the big screen, and small screen, treatment over the last few years. Netflix is now adapting one of her hit novels, Brazen Virtue for its streaming platform, and it is everything you would expect it to be.
In Netflix’s Brazen, Washington, D.C. native, and best-selling author, Grace (Alyssa Milano) is back in her hometown to help her sister, Kathleen (Emilie Ullerup) gain full custody of her nephew. However, Kathleen is hiding a major secret from her sister, a secret that lands her dead. Teaming up with D.C. Investigator Ed (Sam Page), Grace will stop at nothing to find the killer while also trying to deny her growing attraction to the investigator.
One of the hardest things about bringing a novel to the big screen, especially a romance novel, is displaying the same chemistry displayed in the novel on screen. Unfortunately, director Monika Mitchell is unable to capture this. As someone who read the original novel, the novel had the opportunity to focus on the growing romantic tension between Ed and Grace. As a reader, you got the chance to read what Grace and Ed were thinking, and feeling, where as the movie didn’t allot any time for these moments. Because they had to condense the novel into an an hour and a half movie, a lot of what was used to create the chemistry was left out, thus leaving things feeling rushed and a little disjointed at times.
Milano and Page did a good job as Grace and Ed, but, once again, they lacked the chemistry needed to really make me believe they were the same characters from the novel. Maybe it had something to do with the lack of development on the characters as individuals, but I wasn’t sold on the idea of them ending up together. I also wasn’t sold on a number of other items in the story like Milano’s Grace being allowed to take part in the investigation when she one, is not a cop and two, she is a conflict of interest because she is related to the victim.
It is interesting Netflix chose to adapt this book as it is the second book in Roberts’ D.C. Detectives series. I have to wonder if this one does well, if they will adapt the first book, Sacred Sins. Nevertheless, fans of the book and fans of Roberts may be a little disappointed with this adaptation, It is not terrible, but it is extremely predictable, and a little over the top in certain parts. If you are going to watch the movie, just go in knowing that it is not the best adaptation from Roberts’ collection. If you are looking for the best, that to me is still Montana Sky.
Grade: C