Grant Singer is best known as an American music video director. Still, his latest (and first) thriller, Reptile, caught my attention after being described as “Benicio Del Toro’s best performance since Sicario” on Netflix. After opening with the brutal murder of a broker, Del Toro’s Nichols investigates the crime alongside his partners and friends at the Scarborough PD. As the plot and investigation thicken, Nichols finds his personal life unraveling right before his eyes. 

Much to my surprise, the film offered an enjoyable crime-solving story with some anxiety-inducing moments, minor thrills, and a semi-unpredictable resolution. Del Toro’s performance carried the star-studded cast, but his co-stars, Justin Timberlake and Alicia Silverstone, didn’t allow their characters to fall completely flat. If anything, this isn’t a thriller to just throw away.

The first act introduces us to the case of Broker Summer Elswick (Matilda Lutz) and the private life of Officer Nichols. Nichols is a hardened cop, but unlike other noir-esque crime films, Nichols has what seems to be a comfortable life. He has a loving wife at home, a social life that includes frequent square dancing, and a good group of friends at work. Nichols’ personality toes the line between a hardened cop and a close-to-retirement detective more interested in a kitchen renovation than finding the murderer in his current case. 

We also spend some time with Will Grady (Timberlake), the boyfriend/business partner of the murdered Broker and the one who found the body. Like Sean Parker in The Social Network (2010), Timberlake brings a level of snarky, antagonistic confidence. He’s sarcastic, a shit liar, and manages a performance that isn’t Oscar-worthy but not necessarily hurtful to the overall film. Grady and his mother, Camille (Frances Fisher), carry themselves in a way that lets the audience know they consider themselves untouchable. Right off the bat, we are rightfully suspicious of both of them.

Truly, the meat of this film is in the second and third acts following Nichols’ gun battle with a suspect. After this, Nichols’, who can’t seem to completely let go of the case, peels back layers of his life that seem to be a little too closely related to the murder. Although it is a little predictable, watching Del Toro quietly accept that his most trusted companions are dirty cops is mesmerizing. Del Toro is amazingly restrained and subtle and offers just enough emotion to understand his character’s inner turmoil. He must decide whether or not to completely ruin his current life with his wife or seek true justice. 

Nichols’ wife, Judy (Silverstone), is an anchor for him to hold onto. Silverstone is also rather restrained and plays the loving, almost hardened wife of a veteran cop very well. Her looks from across the table or the room, their glances at one another, let us know they truly are the only people they can trust. She offers just enough light to this rather dark story about betrayal. 

You can see Singer’s music video background in his direction with Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis. There are birds-eye-views of cars, extreme closeups, and a fun play with mirrors, ensuring all players are in frame simultaneously. I also found the use of cutting, done by editor Kevin Hickman (who notably worked on Nightcrawler), to be Singer’s primary tool for creating thrill. The one sequence of Del Toro calling the phone number of the suspected killer and then three conversations happening simultaneously made for a rather exciting few seconds. 

A true standout in the film was the music by Yair Elazar Glotman, who was also involved in All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) and Joker (2019), two Oscar-winning scores. Glotman, here, similarly played with silence and a strong bass instrumental to create very dark, intense moments. The film really showcases past projects and experiences from all technical sides that served as inspirations. You can see each crew member’s past influences, and, in essence, this film is a compilation of some of the best characteristics of more successful thrillers. Unfortunately, those influences, while respectable, left Reptile needing more originality and directorial flair from Singer. 

In 2023, a story about a dirty cop can be tricky. The United States is somewhat sensitive to how we discuss our police force. What is frustratingly lacking in this film is true motivation from Nichols’ foils. Wally (Domenick Lombardozzi), the “leader” in this dirty operation, isn’t given much background. We know that he is considering life after the force when he reveals his security company pitch to the group (which leads to his eventual downfall). Unlike Nichols, he’s a slight scumbag who doesn’t find cheating to be that great of a sin. But other than minor details, we don’t know why Wally commits such heinous crimes. 

Later, we learn that Nichols’ superiors are also involved in the schemes, but again, we don’t know enough to find the twist shocking or intriguing. Captain Allen (Eric Bogosian), also Nichols’ family, is haphazardly given the plotline of having MS, but his reconciliation with his illness is never given to the audience. All we learn is that he is dirty and unwilling to come clean. With men with such similar lives, why do some fall corrupt? What makes Nichols so special? 

It’s possible the story is playing with the aging hero. Nichols talks to his younger partner Cleary (Ato Essandoh) about “growing old and alone,” so presumably, we entered the realm of the overly used trope “you either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.” Aging cops have nothing left to do but try to fix the system by giving them more money, but we never hear about their struggles or their pasts. All we know is that, right now, seemingly good men are now evil men. And we never know why. 

Maybe the true thrill or fear in this film comes from the fact that our villains are acting evil only because they can. As revealed by Michael Pitt’s anxiety-induced character, Eli Phillips, people with money or power can bend the law at their will and do not need a reason to do so. That power, that level of untouchable confidence, is what we should be afraid of in 2023. 

Overall, Singer’s first narrative film–the crime-noir-thriller starring Benicio Del Toro–wasn’t a total flop. All directors and writers (Singer and Del Toro wrote the film along with Benjamin Brewer) have some growing pains. This film truly wanted to be the next Prisoners (2013), and I think Singer could eventually get to that level of trill. Until then, Reptile is a strong step in the right direction of what I hope to be better, stronger films by Grant Singer. 

Review Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas

Feature Image via Netflix