January 24, 2021 – Most crime dramas are very masculine affairs, where women play a secondary role, but sometimes a drama like this comes along where a woman who has been willfully ignorant of the activities of her outlaw husband, suddenly finds herself and her family in real danger.

Jean (Rachel Brosnahan of “Patriots Day”) is just such a woman. Her husband, Eddie (Bill Heck of “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”) is a crook and she knows it, but she stays out of his business. One day, Eddie brings a baby home for her. Being barren, she accepts the child and names it Harry, even though she knows the child was obtained for her by questionable means.

Jean is not a good cook and also struggles with her parenting skills, but she muddles along the best she can, until one day, her life, and Harry's are turned upside down. A man she does not know, Cal (Arinzé Kene of “Been So Long”) bursts into her home and tells her she must leave immediately. He says he is a friend of Eddie's. He says Eddie sent him to get her into hiding, but he won't say why.

Jean and Harry go on the run, hiding out in a house rented through Eddie's connections. Cal doesn't know where Eddie is, and probably would not tell her if he knew. The less she knows the better. People are after Eddie, and they are after her as well — bad people, killers.

These people catch up with Jean, who is again rescued by Cal, who takes her to a remote location. Eventually, Jean begins to piece together what is going on. Eddie is in trouble with gangsters. The gangsters are after her because they think she knows where Eddie is, but she still doesn't know where Eddie is.

Cal's wife, Teri (Marsha Stephanie Blake of “See You Yesterday”) unexpectedly shows up at Cal's remote hiding place, along with Cal's young son, Paul (Da'mauri Parks) and Cal's father, Art (Frankie Faison of “Do the Right Thing”). It turns out they are all hiding from the same gangsters that have been stirred up by Eddie. Art teaches Jean how to shoot a handgun.

When Cal doesn't show up, Jean and Teri go looking for him. Jean finally discovers why Cal is helping her, and the suspense gets turned up about 10 notches when the women find themselves in the middle of a gang war. Jean finds herself in extreme danger and it will take all her intelligence and courage to survive.

This is a movie that starts out slow, but the suspense soon starts building, and continues to build right up to the conclusion. The plot has many unexpected twists. The performances by Rachel Brosnahan, Marsha Stephanie Blake and Arinzé Kene are riveting. Director and co-writer, Julia Hart (“Stargirl”) handles the drama, suspense and action with equal skill. This movie rates a B+.

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