That day, Summer Elswick was to show a property she bought at a low price and which she hoped to resell for a big profit. Upon discovering the remains of the young real estate agent, who was his fiancée and business partner, on site, Will Grady remains speechless: is it dismay, or relief, that we read on his face? The real feelings and motivations of the boyfriend, his entourage and many other suspects will be at the heart of the questions of Tom Nichols, the detective in charge of the investigation. However, this crime with no apparent motive has unsuspected ramifications, as we will discover in Reptile (VF), a film which, its title is a clue, changes skin in the middle.
If there’s one essential ingredient to a good crime drama, it’s a fleshed-out cop character. Tom is a worthy protagonist, largely thanks to the interior acting of the always excellent Benicio Del Toro, particularly appreciated in Traffic (Traffic) And Cheby Steven Soderbergh, 21 grams (21 grams), by Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Sicarioby Denis Villeneuve.
In fact, the actor makes the judicious choice of restraint, which restraint generates a certain opacity which makes Tom sometimes difficult to define, on purpose. What is he really thinking at this moment? Is he really a fool, or is he pretending to be a fool to someone else?
We wonder, we speculate, and the charisma of the star does the rest.
A complicit duo
Another of the reasons contributing to the sustained interest generated by the character of Tom lies in the very dense backdrop that the screenwriters Benjamin Brewer and Grant Singer created for him, the latter signing the production.
So Tom has just been transferred to the outskirts of Atlanta after having had a career in Chicago. We will gradually learn how it ended there, and how these past events have a direct bearing on those currently unfolding.
Newly arrived, Tom lives in a house under construction, a construction site overseen by his beloved partner, Judy. Very close, the spouses frequently discuss the matter, the first willingly seeking the opinion of the second on the subject of a troubling detail or a persistent impression. In this relationship, we happily find a little of the dynamic of “Monsieur and Madame Maigret” in Simenon’s novels.
For the anecdote, Benicio Del Toro finds here a partner from his youth: Alicia Silverstone, with whom he starred in his debut in the police comedy Excess Baggage (Excessively naughty, by Marco Brambilla; 1997). Their complicity bursts through the screen; it is palpable in the slightest glance exchanged, the smallest gesture made.
Insidious movements
That being said, all the other characters do not work as well, especially that of the vengeful prowler played by Michael Pitt with borderline outrageous intensity. Justin Timberlake’s barely grieving fiancé seems underwritten. On the other hand, Tom’s police colleagues, including his boss Bob played by actor and playwright Eric Bogosian (Talk Radio), form a credible subgroup.
In terms of rhythm, the film is not free from lengths. Some good avenues discussed also remain unexplored.
The production, on the other hand, does not lack good ideas, between insidious camera movements that keep you waiting, ambiguous asides and passages revealing their dreamlike nature later.
Obviously, Grant Singer studied David Fincher and David Lynch (whom he mentions in an interview with Duty). It’s not there yet, far from it, but this first feature film with a changing identity has plenty to satisfy thriller fans.