This Gritty Murder Mystery Thriller Starring Denzel Washington Is a Netflix Hidden Gem

If you thought the 2021 serial killer thriller The Little Things (which recently sat atop Netflix's top 10 movies list) was a captivating watch, then allow me to introduce you to one of Denzel Washington’s most underrated gems, Devil in a Blue Dress, which is also available to watch on Netflix. 

Though the 1995 murder mystery thriller didn’t hit any of Netflix’s top content lists, it has definitely piqued my interest. Set in 1948 Los Angeles, the film follows Easy Rawlins (Washington), a war veteran who is hired to locate a missing woman named Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals). Soon, he finds himself mixed up in a murderous political scandal. Sounds like my kind of movie.

Written and directed by Carl Franklin, Devil in a Blue Dress is based on Walter Mosley's 1990 novel of the same name. When the 1995 murder mystery entered the accredited Criterion Collection (which is dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them on DVD, Blu-ray, etc) in 2022, Franklin revealed to Slate magazine how they turned the movie adaptation into a reality. 

“Universal had the rights. Jonathan Demme, who had a deal at TriStar at the time, contacted me and asked me what I wanted to do, and he would executive produce,” he told the publication. “Denzel was interested in the books already. He and Wesley Snipes both were interested in the books. I said to Jonathan this was what I would like to do. So they went about getting the rights to it and getting it over at Sony.”

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