Reptile Movie Review

Reptile (2019)

Watch Reptile on Netflix
Written by: Grant Singer & Benjamin Brewer & Benicio Del Toro (screenplay), Grant Singer & Benjamin Brewer (story)
Directed by: Grant Singer
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Justin Timberlake, Ato Essandoh, Alicia Silverstone, Eric Bogosian, Domenick Lombardozzi, Frances Fisher, Michael Pitt, Matilda Lutz
Rated: R
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Plot
New England detective Tom Nichols unflinching pursues a case where nothing is as it seems as he dismantles the illusions in his own life.

Verdict
This is a twisting mystery that just keeps spinning. There are numerous suspects and every scene adds to the intrigue. Every scene is so tense as we don't know what will happen or who will look more guilty as we glean more information. The characters all have some depth and the complexity of the plot is engrossing. It weaves such a complicated tale I began to worry about the ending, but I liked how this concluded. The movie never holds your hand nor does it explain everything, but it provides more than enough information to piece together what happened. It's more than a solid movie, and I'm surprised I didn't hear more about this when it released. It's really good.
Watch It.

Review
Will (Justin Timberlake) and Summer (Matilda Lutz) both work as real estate agents. I wondered how this fit into the plot at large. There's very little context as the first several scenes are them preparing houses and Will giving a recruitment speech. When Will meets Summer at a property, he finds her body. That's where the plot kicks in.

Lead detective Nichols (Benicio del Toro) tries to piece together what happened. While Summer and Will had been together a year, he discovers she was still married. That could be a motive. When we see Summer's husband, he acts guilty. We're also introduced to Eli (Michael Pitt), a character that nearly screams guilty just to keep us guessing. Motive and clues are all over the place. Questions arise about a property Summer sold months ago and a specific paint on her body that's specific to a nearby church. We see a lot of people that could be involved.

Ato Essandoh, Benicio Del Toro, Justin Timberlake play Dan Cleary, Tom Nichols, Will Grady

This feels like a book with the depth of plot and characters. Nichols and fellow cops hang out together. They seem to have lives outside of what we see on screen. When we think that maybe Will is in the clear, he admits that he knew his girlfriend was still seeing her ex. Everyone has a secret. While Nichols seemingly solves the case, he can't forget a couple of clues that can't be reconciled. His boss tells him he won't stop him but questions if he really wants to go down this path when the case is closed.

Every scene feels ominous, combined with directing and framing that's done with a lot of care. When Will has a showing, we begin to worry if he'll be attacked as the scene is off and uncomfortable. It's not what you think, nothing in this movie is. We soon discover there's a larger conspiracy at play.

Benicio Del Toro, Ato Essandoh play Tom Nichols, Dan Cleary

This movie is incredibly tense from nearly the beginning. Multiple times it will cut between three locations so that when someone knocks on a door or makes a call, we don't know where the scene will go. It really drives the tension. It doesn't hold our hands either. It's a good story that expects us to pay attention as it builds more twists and turns. As it does that, more hinges on the conclusion. I began to wonder if it could land it. This is a fun and brooding mystery, but a misstep at the end could ruin everything else, wasted potential.

I really liked this, and I'm surprised I didn't hear more about it. The conclusion manages to be effective. It gives us most of the answers. While we may not know the exact details, we know the gist of the scam that was happening. The only thing I don't like is a fake out dream sequence. This isn't the movie for that. While Nichols had talked about his dreams, the only time we see it is when the movie tries to trick us.