Warning: Major spoilers forReptile Ahead
Reptile, the newest crime drama from Netflix, follows detective Tom Nichols (Benicio Del Toro) as he investigates the brutal murder of a local real estate agent, Summer Elswick (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz). Found by her boyfriend and real estate golden boy, Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), the film wastes no time getting to the crux of its story. However, the point here is that nothing is what it seems, and the murder of Summer is anything but a cut-and-dry case.
From the onset,Reptilemanages to exude quite an unsettling tone. It’s reminiscent of thefirst season ofTrue Detectivebut aims to strike a much more serious tone, which should tell you a lot about whatReptiletries to accomplish. Whether or not it achieves such a feat is debatable. What the movie does manage to pull off, however, are the complexities that lie at the film’s foundation. As such, the actual storyReptileis trying to tell has adequate space to unfold as needed.
There are a multitude of layers to this film, some of which make the movie better and some of which unnecessarily muddy the water and leavegaping plot holes. As a result, understanding who killed Summer once the credits roll could be a bit difficult, so here’s an explanation.
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The Obvious Suspect
While Summer’s murder is one piece of a much larger puzzle, only one person was holding the knife that led to her demise, and it’s the obvious suspect. When Tom initially discussed the murder with his wife Judy (Alicia Silverstone), she all but foreshadowed who the killer was.
She casually explained that half of all female victims are killed by their exes, and the number of stab wounds Summer endured indicates it was a crime of passion. Therefore, the natural conclusion would imply Summer’s estranged husband killed her. However, although Judy was on the right track, the focus was on the wrong person. Will killed Summer, not her estranged husband.
Will might have discovered her body andcalled the police, but it was all part of his plan. While viewers don’t definitively see Will perpetrate Summer’s murder, it’s all but implied when audiences catch a glimpse of him standing over her body while she’s still barely alive. His sinister expression as he watches her gasp for air speaks volumes. Will more than likely stabbed Summer earlier that morning and left her in the house to slowly die before “discovering” her body later in the day. Thus allowing him to play the role of the grieving boyfriend.
Although Summer’s death was the result of a larger web of corruption, the actual execution of her murder was a vicious act of passion. Will finds out Summer is still involved with her estranged husband despite their separation, which clearly makes him jealous. Couple that with the need to silence her, given her potential dismantling of his odious operations, was more than enough motive for Will to carry out such a violent act. In the end, Will is ultimately arrestedwhen FBI agentsapproach him in the middle of his golf game.
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A Tangled Web
While Summer’s murder might have been physically undertaken by her realtor boyfriend, the reasons behind why her death occurred involve a much more tangledweb of corruption. Between the realtors and the local police department, Summer never stood a chance, given what she knew about their nefarious dealings. When her plans to go to the FBI were discovered, her fate was sealed.
Thanks to a flash drive stolen from Will’s office by Eli Phillips (Michael Pitt), a man who blames Will and his mother for what happened to his family, Tom makes a breakthrough in his investigation. He discovers a company by the name of White Fish Assets that has been buying local properties via Will’s family-owned real estate firm. All purchased properties were drug-seized foreclosures taken by the authorities and sold for cheap. The web begins to unravel when Tom realizes White Fish belongs to his colleague, Wally (Domenick Lombardozzi).
Wally stole drugs from police evidence and planted them in certain houses, which would then be seized. White Fish then purchased the properties for next to nothing, with Summer acting as the broker. However, she was not actively involved in their scheme and didn’t make a penny on any of the sold properties despite the appearance of $70,000 in commissions on paper. Given what she knew, Summer planned to tell the FBI and even called them before she was murdered.
While suchnefarious drug activitiesseem like plenty of corruption for one movie, Tom quickly uncovers more players at work. He finds the Chrysler caught on camera leaving the scene of Summer’s murder in Allen’s garage, which ultimately leads Tom to disclose everything he’s discovered to his police chief, Marty Graeber (Mike Pniewski). When Tom meets Allen at his house to discuss the car, he brings Marty along with him. However, when Allen warns Tom to leave, it’s clear Marty is in on the whole operation.
As a result, the dominoes begin to fall. Wally shoots and kills Allen before Tom reluctantly does the same to Marty when it’s clear Marty is going to kill him. Wally and Tom have a standoff before Tom shoots Wally and severely injures him. In the end, everyone involved in the real estate/drug operation who played a part in Summer’s murder faces some justice.
