Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have teamed up once again with their new Netflix film “The Rip,” and yes, it’s actually based on true events. But how closely does it stick to those events?
Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, “The Rip” brings viewers into the work of a team of Miami cops. One day, they discover literal millions of dollars in a stash house, putting them on a clock — the rule in the field is that they must count the money on the scene, but they also know whoever owns the stash house will be coming back soon — and on their heels about who they can trust.
We won’t spoil anything here, but we will tell you the actual story that the movie is based on.
Did this actually happen to a group of Miami cops?
It sure did. Carnahan is actually close friends with the cop who ran the team when it happened.
Chris Casiano supervised a tactical narcotics squad in Miami and one day, they found $24 million in the walls of someone’s house. During the actual rip — yes, it’s legitimately called a rip, because according to Carnahan, it “is literally what it sounds like. We’re gonna rip your stuff, we’re gonna take your stash” — Casiano immediately noticed cameras in the house, and got the feeling his team was being watched.
That became the starting point for the film version. The movie then speeds off into very different directions, but still kept some details true. Among them was the cash-sniffing dog.
“In the movie and in real life, when the dog was outside, it was just going nuts,” Carnahan told Netflix. The dog could legitimately smell how much money was in the house from outside (not the specific amount, just the insane volume) and that’s what tipped off the team to the fact that it was a lot more than they thought.
Are the characters based on real people?
Yes, they are. Both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck went to Miami (though at separate times) and worked with real tactical narcotics police. According to Damon, his character is based on the person he rode along with during that trip.
Catalina Sandino Moreno also got to talk to someone actually involved in the real rip.
“[Carnahan] showed me pictures, he showed me videos, and he told me that there was someone that was going to come to New Jersey, this woman called Lolo, and she was going to tell me her side of the story,” Moreno told Netflix. “She was part of the whole rip.”
According to Carnahan, Casiano walked him through the whole night the rip happened, and the two men worked on making a story out of it for years. So yes, they got creative, but Netflix notes the movie “remains grounded in the gritty details of life for a Miami police officer.”
“The Rip” is now streaming on Netflix.
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