Villainess Review: Emily Brown (The Captive Nanny)

There was a primary reason why I was counting down the days until Lifetime aired The Captive Nanny, but I'll get to it later. This film, which aired on May 30, 2020, centered on main protagonist Chloe, who was hired to serve as a nanny for young Tommy Brown, by his mother, Emily. Chloe is elated to have a job as a nanny, and regarding Emily, she welcomes Chloe with open arms. However, Emily basically has one key rule: Tommy is not to leave the house. When he is taken outside by Chloe, Emily scolds her newly hired nanny, but then tells Chloe her reasons for her strict rules.

Emily informed Chloe that she was once in a relationship with Baz Martin, the lead singer of a group known as Blank Slate. She added that she ended things with Baz, who became obsessive and stalked her afterwards, resulting in her rule regarding Tommy; however, as time progressed, Chloe began to sense that something was off about Emily. Her gut feeling increased when she learned that Emily had a file on Chloe, as well as the fact that the Browns had a past nanny, Sylvia, who suddenly disappeared. As for Emily, she and her husband, Michael, began to act hostile towards Chloe, and after finding out that Blank Slate was performing in the area, the couple locked Chloe inside her room, doing so under the belief that Chloe was aligned with Baz.

Chloe denied the claims, but she wasn't believed, and during her capture, she learned what happened to Sylvia: they had done the same thing to her that they were doing to Chloe, but Sylvia ended up killed by the couple. In addition, it was revealed that while Chloe and Baz did have a fling, it was Baz who ended it and Chloe who became deranged as a result, with Sylvia revealing in one of her recordings that Chloe had delusions of getting back with Baz. Chloe later pretended to believe Emily's delusions, leading to Emily ordering Chloe to use her ex-boyfriend, Rob, to get her backstage--with Emily repeating the order after Chloe spotted Emily's deranged shrine to Boz.

Chloe acquiesced, and Emily took Tommy to see Boz, who referred to Emily under her real name: Chelsea. Emily presented Tommy to Boz and claimed that he was Boz's biological son, adding that they could be together as a family. Boz turned her down, prompting Emily to take out a gun and point it at Boz, but once Chloe arrived with Michael, Emily's attempt to kill Chloe resulted in her shooting and killing Michael instead. A pursuit followed, and it ended with Emily arrested by police, with Chloe answering Emily's question about Tommy forgiving her with a simple headshake.

Emily Brown, aka Chelsea, was played by Austin Highsmith, who has done several Lifetime movies in her career. She had always been a protagonist in her films, which include Nanny Seduction and A Deadly Affair, both coming out in 2017 and seeing Highsmith against a villainous Valerie Azlynn in each film. However, the reason why I was excited for this film: this was Austin Highsmith's first time playing a Lifetime film villainess, something I had wanted for a long time. Highsmith plays heroic roles very well, so I knew she would excel as a villainess if given the chance, and The Captive Nanny showed that Highsmith could play evil and psychotic to perfection. Her portrayal of Emily was absolutely stellar, especially when it came to Emily's descent into outright madness during the film's climax.

Fans of the Scream TV series (such as myself) also recognize Highsmith as Kristen Lang during the show's second season, and she recently guest starred as Beth Daniels, the wife of disgraced cop Mack Daniels, on The Rookie. I truly hope Highsmith plays more villainous roles, either on Lifetime or otherwise; I just know she'll definitely shine as a scheming villainess in any project.

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Click here for Emily Brown's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!