Reptile Movie 2023 | Key Facts & Characters & Ending Explained
Reptile Movie 2023 tells the story of a realtor who is found dead by her colleague and partner who naturally becomes a suspect but then there are a few other men in her life who are also suspects; so far, so common-place but Grant Singer’s “Reptile” is as much about the police investigating the killing as it is about the investigation. These are a close-knit bunch of cops who both work and play together and who may not be as clean as they should be.
Detective Tom Nichols (Benecio del Toro) and his partner Dan Cleary (Ato Essandoh) investigate the murder of real-estate broker Summer Elswick (Matilda Lutz). As the two run down possible suspects including Summer’s boyfriend Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), her ex-husband Sam Gifford (Karl Glusman), and a man with a grudge against the Gradys named Eli Phillips (Michael Pitt), the case goes from a simple murder to something of larger scale implications.
As the investigation unfolds, it seems that anyone could be a suspect with motives and opportunities aplenty. But the shocking twist came when it was revealed that Summer’s murder was not a result of personal animosity but a desperate attempt to silence her. She had stumbled upon a web of crime and corruption that went far beyond her relationship with Will.
Detective Tommy Nichols who led the case began to peel back the layers of deceit. His close knit circle of friends including his police colleagues, started to fall under suspicion.
Eli plays a crucial role by providing Tommy with a thumb drive that exposed money laundering scheme involving the Gradys real estate company and a private security firm run by one of Tommys best friends. It is then we know that corruption ran deep reaching even the Captain and the Chief of Police.
Tommy found himself in a dangerous predicament as he was the only one in his circle of friends who remained untainted by the corruption. When his knowledge became a threat, his life was in peril.
Characters
Benicio Del Toro delivers possibly the best performance I’ve ever seen him give he can often seem slimy, slick or creepy but in this film, he comes across just as he intends you to see him, which is as a man with a spotty history as a policeman, but greatly desiring to get onto the street and narrow. He is supported by his dutiful wife Judy, played by Alicia Silverstone in a really strong performance.
Justin Timberlake gives us a turn as the bereaved boyfriend of the murder victim, Timberlake and his mother, played by Frances Farmer, who is very underused on the real estate company that Timberlake and his girlfriend work for.
Quickly the suspects add up. There is the girlfriends soon to be ex-husband; then there’s Eli who Timberlake and farmer have screwed out of his families property. There’s also some sort of a weird creepy guy out of the church that’s getting painted in the middle of nowhere. This is apparently a piece of property that the girlfriend sold but revisited. This plot point is never revisited, nor dug into any further, yet the paint that they’ve been using to paint the church appears on the victim and on the victims soon to be ex-husband.
Ending Explained
In the end the truth prevails and justice was served. Will Grady gets arrested for Summers murder revealing her threat to expose the drug money laundering scheme.
The movie ends with Tommy wounded but resolute, cleaning his hand under a motion sensor sink symbolizing the cleansing of the town from its deep seated corruption.
The movie reveals that Summer was slain to stop her from telling the FBI about a fraud involving Nichols’ own police department at all levels. Singer claims that Nicholas must choose between keeping quiet and doing the right thing, which means sacrificing his profession, stability, and means of subsistence. Additionally, he decides to act morally. This entails sharing his knowledge with those he can trust, such as his commander, Marty Graeber (Mike Pniewski), and his wife’s uncle, Robert Allen (Eric Bogosian). Sadly for Nichols, they both know about it.
Reptile Movie 2023 | Reviews
IMDB score is 6.5 ( I rated it 5 personally)
Reptile Movie 2023 Netflix
Reptile Movie 2023 Trailer
