| Director | John McNaughton |
|---|---|
| Genre | LGBT-related film, crime film, drama film, erotic thriller, mystery film, neo-noir, teen film |
| Runtime | 108 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $67.2 million |
In the upscale Miami suburb of Blue Bay, handsome high school guidance counselor Sam Lombardo, who is known for his popularity among the female students as well as some of the older women in the area due to his sex appeal, holds a school assembly on sex crimes. Afterwards, popular and wealthy cheerleader Kelly Van Ryan accuses Lombardo of raping her; outcast student and juvenile delinquent Suzie Toller, who comes from a poor family in the Everglades, makes a similar accusation. Kelly's vindictive mother, real estate heiress Sandra, goes on a relentless crusade to take Sam down. Sam faces harassment, is placed on administrative leave, gets blacklisted from various local hot spots, is run off the road in his car, and is beaten by Sandra's pool boy, Frankie Condo, before being jailed. Sam hires attorney Kenneth Bowden to defend him.
During the trial, Suzie succumbs to pressure during cross-examination and admits that she and Kelly concocted false allegations to get revenge on Sam. Suzie was seeking revenge for Sam's failure to bail her out of jail on a minor drug charge, and Kelly was retaliating out of jealousy for Sam's affair with her mother. Both girls face charges of perjury. Sam and Kenneth negotiate an $8.5 million settlement for defamation, which Sandra pays out using funds from a trust Kelly would receive only upon Sandra's death. In spite of the win, Sam loses his home and his job, but after the payout, it is revealed that Sam and the girls were accomplices, using the trial to extort money from Sandra.
Police detective Ray Duquette suspects the trio of working a scam. Against the wishes of the district attorney, he continues investigating Sam. He tells Kelly and Suzie that Sam has already transferred the money to an off-shore account. Suzie panics and goes to Kelly, who comforts her. Kelly, however, calls Sam and tells him they may have to get rid of Suzie. Suzie attacks Kelly in the pool, and they fight, but end up having sex, unaware Ray is watching them. A few nights later, Sam bludgeons Suzie to death on the beach while Kelly waits nearby. The two then drive to the swamp, where Sam disposes of a plastic-wrapped body.
Ray and his partner, Detective Gloria Perez, investigate Suzie's disappearance. Her blood and teeth are found at the beach, while her car is located abandoned at a bus terminal. The D.A.'s office again insists that Ray drop the case, but he asks Gloria to watch Sam. Sam shows Gloria his counseling file on Kelly, which suggests she is troubled and violent. Meanwhile, Ray goes to the Van Ryans' guest house to confront the scared and upset Kelly, but they end up shooting each other. Sandra rushes over as Ray stumbles out of the house with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, while Sandra discovers Kelly dead from two shots to the chest. Ray claims he was forced to shoot Kelly in self-defense. No charges are filed against him, but he is discharged from the force for disobeying orders.
It is revealed that Sam is in cahoots with Ray. Although Sam is displeased that Ray killed Kelly instead of simply framing her for Suzie's murder, he agrees that they now have fewer loose ends to deal with. The two go sailing on Sam's boat, where Sam attempts to kill Ray. When Ray fights back, he is shot and killed with a speargun by Suzie, who staged her murder with Sam. Suzie reveals she was motivated to kill Ray to avenge the murder of her best friend, Davey, whom Ray wrongly shot, then staged as a self-defense killing. Sam reluctantly accepts a drink from Suzie, who assures him she will not double-cross him; however, upon drinking it, he realizes she has poisoned it before Suzie knocks him overboard and sails into the sunset, leaving Sam's body to float in the ocean. In the Everglades, Gloria learns the truth about Duquette’s corruption and his crimes.
Suzie was the ultimate mastermind of the plot. Upon finding out that Sam and Kelly were in a sexual relationship, Suzie blackmailed Sam with photographs of the two using drugs during sex, convincing him to help with her scheme. Suzie subsequently orchestrated the meeting between Sam and Ray at a local bar. During her staged murder on the beach, Suzie pulled out her own teeth with pliers to make her death appear legitimate. Ray shot Kelly first before shooting himself in the shoulder to pretend he killed her in self-defense. With Kelly, Ray, and Sam all dead, Suzie is met by Kenneth, who gives her a briefcase full of cash that he describes as "just walking-around money" and a check for millions of dollars. As she leaves, he tells her to "be good" before taking her drink.