Reptile

After a female realtor is murdered at a vacant property, her developer boyfriend finds the body and is considered a prime suspect. The initial police investigation zeroes in on him but the case gets murkier when it's revealed he had an alibi and the victim had a bitter ex-husband.

All this is just the opening passage, after which homicide detective Tom Nichols sets to work and finds a labyrinth of additional complications. With the plot unfolding at an unhurried pace, Nichols' nuanced relationship with his wife Judy is given unusual prominence for a neo-noir mystery movie. The rest of the excellent cast is well up to the task of portraying individuals being devious and hostile as Nichols ruffles the feathers of his suspects and colleagues. 'Reptile' is a thoroughly professional debut by a first time director which offers several modest innovations to the genre.