Yeah, the small town/everyone talks explanation makes the most sense. That said, I could have swore Summer said something to the effect of being screwed if word ever got out, but maybe not.

sushi94 said:

---

maybe the judge new and gave it away

---

That's a good call, as I was under the impression that the judge is the one who sentenced Summer, and she then went and worked for him. Which would also explain why he was so quick to test her that next morning.

I also got the sense that she might have been in a relationship with one of the cops. Roy from the office maybe. There seemed to be some "we know about you" vibes.

sushi94 said:

---

maybe the judge new and gave it away

---

This is what I thought

In listening to The Big Picture podcast discussion of this movie it helped clarify part of the story for me that though I did pick up on initially, I didn't really grasp, I just really forgot. That was the sheriff's office in this small dying town actually did have a not entirely sinister reason for using civil forfeiture, which was to financially keep their office afloat. Granted when they do stuff like buy a margarita machine it doesn't hold as much water, but that act still isn't full on egregious in the grand scheme of things. I just wanted to point out this movie is smarter and has more thought behind it than just a good guy vs bad cops, which in less capable hands would have been the movie we got. Stuff like that makes me want to rewatch sooner rather than later. It also makes me real sad for Saulnier, it sounds like Boyega pretty much bailed because it was a tough shoot and that that made this movie take 5 years to get done as a result. Even if what we got is way better than the Boyega version, that's a lot of time to put a film on hold.

Finished this the other night. I enjoyed it. Could have gone cuter with the lady, but maybe trying to be more true Louisiana.

Really enjoyed it. A smart, bad cop flick. I think this would've been better as a 4-6 episode series and could've told more backstory on Summer and her ex, Don Johnson's character and his police force, Jess' story and big question - what was the background on the Chinese restaurant? Korean War vet medic that had easy access to money. At one point Terry said to the younger restaurant guy "oh you lose the accent now?" Where did all that trust come from that they would make Terry partner in the restaurant and trust him to give him cash?
Also they could've done more with the rushed ending.