Nia Long made a few attempts in the thriller arena, but one that stands out, for no good reason is, The Fatal Affair. Released in 2020 on Netflix, Long played Ellie Warren, a mother and wife who gets into a dangerous affair, with an old friend from college, played by Omar Epps. Epps was the only good performance in this forgettable film. It was nice to see a Black woman be at the center of a thriller plot, however, she wasn’t convincing as a woman scared for hers’ and her family’s lives. From that performance, I surmised that thrillers aren’t her strong suit. 
Then came Missing. It could be the directors, Nicholas D. Johnson and William Merrick; or the chemistry and trust the actors had with one another; or the script, written by William Merrick, Nicholas D. Johnson, and Sev Ohanian. Something was different that caused Nia Long’s performance to be superior in this thriller.
Nia Long plays Grace, a single mother of a teenage daughter, played by Storm Reid, who has been dating a new guy for a few months, when they decide to go on a romantic getaway to Columbia.
This thriller is different because it relies on social media, technology, and devices to move the plot and slowly solve the mystery in the story. From the beginning, you learn that Grace (Nia Long) left Texas to start anew in LA with her daughter. Everything is going fine except on the romantic front. So like any single woman, she finds her solution on a dating app. 
Her daughter, June (Storm Reid) isn’t ready to place her mom’s new boyfriend in the role of stepfather, but not because he isn’t making any effort. June is a typical teenager: doesn’t listen to her mom, stays on her phone all day, ignores responsibilities to party and such. But when her mom doesn’t show up at the airport, from her trip to Columbia, June switches from irresponsible teenager to capable young lady–determined to find out what happened and steer the investigation in the search for her mom. 
The mother/daughter relationship is great to see, especially since this doesn’t usually get developed in a thriller/mystery. The one area of opportunity would be the character of Kevin, played by Ken Leung. We know so little about him, which makes him a great suspect when Grace disappears. However, when all the loose ends get tied up, it seems this may have been one they forgot to get back to. 
Otherwise, this is a solid film that uses devices in a way that didn’t dominate the story or overshadow the actors performances, but was innovative in how clever it enabled and perpetuated the plot. The entire cast gave a great performance and this film will most likely be one aspiring filmmakers study in years to come.
In an interview, when promoting The Fatal Affair, Nia Long mentioned how she never got to play “scared” and that is why she chose that project. I would argue she still hadn’t played scared based on that performance. However, I am glad to say, on behalf of filmmakers everywhere (because, my opinion matters, lol) we will now see you Ms. Long, for future thriller film projects.
Junkie 4 A Story 