Velvet Buzzsaw

Velvet Buzzsaw has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available in Australia on Netflix, and in the US on Netflix. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. 2,016 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Rene Russo sets the tone, and the ensemble matches it scene for scene. Available now on Netflix — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Velvet Buzzsaw is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. At its heart, Velvet Buzzsaw understands what makes crime drama work — character first, plot second. Big money artists and mega-collectors pay a high price when art collides with commerce. After a series of paintings by an unknown artist are discovered, a supernatural force enacts revenge on those who have allowed their greed to get in the way of art. Rene Russo and Jake Gyllenhaal lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2019. What makes Velvet Buzzsaw hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

If you cannot walk away from a good mystery, Velvet Buzzsaw will keep you hooked. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Rene Russo carries scenes that would sink a lesser production. The resolution feels inevitable rather than arbitrary, which is rarer than it sounds.