Villainess Review: Daphne Novak (Danger in the Spotlight)

This was yet another Lifetime film that I just couldn't wait to watch, having learned about this film back when it was known as Paralyzed by Danger. The retitled Danger in the Spotlight centered on Martha Wright, who begins the film waking up in her car after an apparent car crash. Martha, a recovering alcoholic, was believed to have been inebriated while behind the wheel, and after coming to, she heads to the other car and sees a woman laying on her steering wheel, as she was on the other end of the accident.

Martha is left to be accused of the accident, and the identity of the victim was revealed as Daphne Novak, an acclaimed ballet dancer. She had phoned police but left the scene, and after learning about Daphne, Martha tracked her down and visited her home, where Martha is horrified to see that Daphne is wheelchair-bound, having been paralyzed from the accident. A guilt-ridden Martha decides to become Daphne's caretaker, and the film sees the two women bond over their many problems. For Martha, she was a nurse until her addiction cost her the job she loved, as well as custody of her daughter, Anna. For Daphne, she fretted over the end of her career as a dancer, as well as the fact that she was going to be replaced as the lead in Les Miserables.

During this time, Martha had insisted that she wasn't drunk that evening, while Daphne had been attempting to benefit financially for the accident. Daphne was looking for $5 million, but the driver not coming forward served as an obstacle. All the while, Martha did her own investigation and realized that she was drugged that night, and after seeing Daphne's husband, Henry Novak, with syringes, she figured that he was the culprit. Martha and Daphne continued to bond, but as they played Scrabble, Martha decided to tell Daphne everything. She revealed that she called the police, but left the scene, and she voiced her suspicions towards Henry as well.

Daphne didn't believe Martha's claims, leading to Martha heading upstairs and presenting Daphne with the very thing that she was dosed with: GHB. It was also believed that Henry was immobilizing Daphne as well, and once Henry returned home, Martha confronted Henry, who was revealed as the brother of a patient who Martha accidentally over-medicated. Henry attempted to attack Martha and force whiskey in her, while lashing out at Daphne, only for Martha to fight back and bludgeon Henry to death with a statuette. Daphne finally saw the truth, but turned down Martha's plan to call the police, adding that her insurance money would be in jeopardy if she did.

Once Martha dialed the authorities, Daphne suddenly rose out of her wheelchair and injected Martha with an anesthetic drug, revealing that she was the true mastermind of an elaborate insurance fraud scheme. Daphne enlisted Henry to drug Martha and set up everything; with Daphne posing as a woman who was paralyzed in a car accident caused by a drunk Martha. Her villainous plan hit a snag when Martha left after calling the police, as it led to the insurance claim being held up, but once Martha appeared at her home, Daphne was looking for Martha to confess to everything, only for Martha to investigate instead. After placing Martha in her bathtub and forcing whiskey in her system, Daphne revealed her true motive: she was bitter over being cast aside in spite of her years of dancing.

Daphne turned on the faucet and cleaned up the scene, but the adjuster, Mr. Keyes, arriving forced the villainess to get back on her chair and play up appearances. Keyes mentioned Henry's debt and Martha's call to him regarding her suspicions, only for Daphne to discredit Martha as an unreliable alcoholic. Nevertheless, Keyes wanted to either interrogate Henry or deny the claim, and neither were good for Daphne, who decided to go after Martha with another dose of anesthetic. Martha managed to climb out the tub, only to be encountered by Daphne, who responded to Martha's pleas to let her go with another attempted attack.

The brawl ended with Martha tossing Daphne over the stairway, but later on, we see Daphne--alive but paralyzed--at Martha's court hearing. Daphne gives a good review and has nothing but positive things to say about Martha, which resulted in Martha being allowed shared custody of Anna. It's at this point that this viewer suspects that the two women had to have come to some sort of arrangement, and the final scenes revealed that to be true. Martha covered up Henry's death and also covered up Daphne's fraud beforehand, leading to Daphne's appearance. Even with everything that happened, the two women actually maintained their friendship, with Martha continuing to tend to Daphne, who decided to teach ballet.

Danger in the Spotlight aired on August 27, 2021, and featured Anna Marie Dobbins as villainess Daphne Novak. Dobbins is, already, a veteran of Lifetime films; this is her seventh such film and her sixth since 2020. Among her credits include her first villainous role, Kristen Turner, in The Wrong Housesitter, playing main protagonist Audrey Anderson in The Pom Pom Murders, and starring in Lifetime Movie Club's original film, Deadly Misconduct. Dobbins has done well in recent films as the main protagonist, so I was really excited when I watched Marvista's trailer, as it appeared to hint that Dobbins would be back on the dark side on Lifetime--though it was Lifetime's promo that revealed that Dobbins was the villainess.

Daphne Novak was introduced as a young woman who loved what she did for a living, and was distraught when it was threatened, with Dobbins playing Daphne's emotions and bond with Martha immensely well. Daphne's heel turn entering the final quarter of the film was quite masterful; rising out of that chair and drugging Martha, with the scene and the moments that followed it portraying Daphne as a scheming villainess who was bent on gaining what she felt she deserved. However, even after turning heel on Martha, Daphne's care for her remained, and overall, Dobbins did a very amazing job portraying both Daphne's ruthlessness and villainous nature, as well as her maintained care for Martha even as she attempts to incapacitate her once again. Overall, Dobbins truly shined in this role; Daphne Novak (at the moment) is Dobbins' best villainous role, though I wouldn't be surprised if/when she tops this.

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