Reptile
A strong sense of atmosphere and a compelling turn from Benicio del Toro go some way to salvaging a fairly mundane whodunnit.
Professor of crime: Benicio del Toro
There are some actors whose physical presence just melts into the camera. One such is Benicio del Toro, who would seem to be as comfortable on a film set as in the privacy of a hot bath. Those hooded eyes, that world-weary stare, the implacable leathery features… Grant Singer’s Reptile is Benicio del Toro’s film. The actor is seldom off-camera, whether hulking in doorways or staring suspiciously at a suspect, a colleague or even his own wife (Alicia Silverstone). In Tom Nichols’ eyes, everybody is guilty until proven innocent. Del Toro plays Nichols, a homicide detective for the Scarborough Police Department. Del Toro also co-wrote the screenplay with Singer and is credited as executive producer. Yep, this is definitely his film.
However, before Tom Nichols heaves his weight on screen, the prologue belongs to Justin Timberlake’s Will Grady, an affluent real estate agent. There is a crime – this is essentially a whodunnit, as well as police procedural – and it’s up to Nichols and his partner Dan Cleary (Ato Essandoh) to solve it. Grady looks as guilty as hell, but then so does a creepy neighbour (Michael Carmen Pitt) and the ex-husband of Grady’s girlfriend. And others.
There are some loose ends, but then real life is replete with detail unaccounted for. Too many whodunnits cram the plotline with jigsaw pieces that need to be explained away later, to increasingly improbable ends. In Reptile, real life just trundles on in the periphery of our vision and it’s up to Tom Nichols to sort out what is relevant, what is evidential. Co-scripter Grant Singer, who’s previously directed music videos for The Weeknd, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, lays on the atmosphere with a front loader and expects us to sweat it out. The film is too long and the relaxed pace wears thin long before the two-hour mark. Had a director like David Fincher been at the reins, the suspense would have been unbearable. But with Singer, the plot rumbles along when it should have glided. The resolution, too, leaves a lot to be desired. But so long as Benicio del Toro is on screen, the experience is hardly a wasted evening.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Benicio del Toro, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Carmen Pitt, Ato Essandoh, Domenick Lombardozzi, Karl Glusman, Matilda Lutz, Mike Pniewski, Thad Luckinbill, Sky Ferreira, Frances Fisher, Eric Bogosian, Catherine Dyer, John Capone, Victor Rasuk.
Dir Grant Singer, Pro Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill and Trent Luckinbill, Ex Pro Benicio del Toro, Rick Yorn and Rachel Smith, Screenplay Grant Singer, Benjamin Brewer and Benicio del Toro, Ph Michael Gioulakis, Pro Des Patrick M. Sullivan Jr, Ed Kevin Hickman, Music Yair Elazar Glotman, Costumes Amanda Ford, Sound Dane A. Davis.
Black Label Media-Netflix.
136 mins. USA. 2023. UK and US Rel: 29 September 2023. Cert. 15.
