RATTLESNAKE (2019) Netflix Review (Spoilers)
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
Matthew 10:28 - “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (NLT)
How far would you go to preserve the life of your child, helpless and innocent? Would you trade it for the life of a violent, sinful man? What if taking the life of the guilty would save another? Could that be considered defense instead of murder?
Netflix Original "Rattlesnake" does a remarkable job in the deep exploration of this moral dilemma where single mother Katrina Ridgeway must decide between allowing her daughter Clara to succumb to a vicious snake bite and murdering an unrepentant domestic abuser. She loves Clara so much that she cannot bear the thought of letting her go. So, she chooses a man seemingly less worthy of life.
This impossible journey begs the question: Is anyone more worthy than another to live?
Fortunately, the Bible is very clear on this subject.
Romans 3:23 - "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." (NLT)
It is simply not our place to decide who lives or dies. Only God has that power. Katrina's interference may feel like justice at the moment. However, she fails to see how her decision affects God's overarching plan for the world and his message for all who live within it.
Katrina Ridgeway is no less a sinner than the abuser whose life she prematurely ends, and there is no amount of justification to explain her sin away. There is only one way.
Romans 3:24 - "Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins." (NLT)
She interferes in the lives of two people she doesn't know, depriving the abuser of the opportunity for redemption and the abused woman the opportunity to find her strength and defend herself. Because she prematurely sends this man to his doom, he may never know redemption and salvation, only violence. Instead, she damns his soul by literally trading it to demonic forces. Meanwhile, her daughter would automatically be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. Sure, she would leave the world and Katrina would miss her. However, Clara's soul would be secure.
In Matthew 19:14, Jesus Christ declares, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” (NLT)
The philosophy presented above is backward and irrelevant. The question should not be regarding saving an innocent life in exchange for a guilty life. Instead, we should ask, could you deprive a saved soul of being welcomed into Paradise while damning a lost soul for eternity? The answer is no. Katrina's only correct decision would be to let her daughter go.
This extremely flawed and misinformed action Katrina makes is the result of humanity's limited understanding of death. Our time on Earth is temporary, but the afterlife is eternal. Death is merely the transition from one life to the next. As long as we have God's message to guide us, there is no need to be afraid.
Katrina can not let go of her daughter, because she is ignorant of God's plan for Clara. No proper guides are present in her life, which makes her vulnerable to demonic forces seeking to claims unsaved souls. She falls directly into their greedy clutches. She not only damns a stranger, but she also damns herself.
This is the true tragedy of "Rattlesnake."
