Netflix’s new hit movie is powerful anti-copaganda
Jeremy Saulnier’s action-thriller Rebel Ridge is turning out to be one of Netflix’s most popular new movies, as the film continues to draw praise for its immaculate action sequences and gripping storyline.
Starring Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson in leading roles, the film’s explosive ending has left the viewers with questions, as they are left unsure whether Terry (Pierre) gets justice against the cops or not.
Rebel Ridge spoilers ahead!
As the film progresses, it is established that the town of Shelby Springs is corrupted to the core thanks to its police department. Former Marine Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) gets caught up in their web as he tries to post his cousin’s Mike bail in time to save him from being transferred from the local jail to a state prison, where he’s sure to be targeted. However, he fails in his quest due to the police’s interference and a horrific case of civil forfeiture (a very real practice in which police can just take your belongings as they see fit).
Mike is murdered nearly immediately upon arriving at the prison, just as Terry had warned he would be, forcing Terry to take matters into his own hands and uncover a conspiracy with Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb).
Eventually, Terry and Summer find out from the judge (James Cromwell) that police chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and the department are involved in a coverup to avoid transparency measures, following a civil case gone wrong that led to a gargantuan settlement. The settlement almost wiped out the town’s public funds, and the department started resorting to a tactic where alleged criminals are detained for an unusually long period of 90 days and they are unable to provide dashcam footage as proof due to the conspiracy. The bail amounts are also posted higher than they are supposed to be, making the defendants cash cows with no public defenders.
Terry and Summer infiltrate the courthouse basement and retrieve the SD cards that hold the dashcam footage. Summer gets caught while procuring the evidence that the police had forcefully administered drugs to her. Terry is forced to make a swap deal with the police at Rebel Ridge, looking to save Summer in exchange for the evidence linking them to the conspiracy.
Terry breaks the wall of the police station during the scheduled time of the swap, catching the officers by surprise. By the time they arrive on the scene, he manages to detain the chief but mistakes Sims to be “Serpico,” the police officer who secretly is Summer’s well-wisher. After he hands her a gun, she instructs him to give himself up and leads him outside with the officers waiting. Serpico is revealed to be Evan Marston (David Denman), who is then shot in the leg by the chief for pulling his gun on Steve Lann (Emory Cohen).
Terry is informed that Summer is heavily drugged and is running the risk of an overdose. With Marston wounded, he mounts a solo charge on the officers, managing to knock them out using smoke grenades and his close combat skills. He administers Narcan to Summer and flees the scene with her and Marston in the car. Sims, the chief, and the other officers follow him, but the state police get involved and they have to back down.
Terry gets Summer admitted to the hospital and retrieves the dash cam footage from the trunk of the car. Earlier, Marston had instructed Terry to activate the police cruiser siren, which recorded the footage of the chief shooting him. The camera pans to Terry sitting in the hospital’s waiting area with the hard drive as Summer gets treated. The chief, meanwhile, is detained by Sims, awaiting his fate as state police arrive.
While we don’t see the outcome, we are presumably meant to feel hopeful that justice will finally win out.
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