Is ‘The Rip’ inspired by real-life crime? Director shares how a Miami case shaped Damon-Affleck movie
Two best friends, a badge, and a suitcase full of money that absolutely does not belong to them. Netflix is clearly in a mood. ‘The Rip’ is the streamer's newest film bringing Matt Damon and Ben Affleck back together. Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the movie marks the second project released under Artists Equity. It’s the production company Damon and Affleck launched together in 2022. But the tone of ‘The Rip’ couldn’t be more different from ‘Air,’ their previous collaboration. In the movie, Damon and Affleck play Miami police officers who have been close for years. Their bond is tested when their unit discovers a cartel stash house with more than $20 million in cash.
It’s the kind of discovery that looks unreal even when it’s sitting right in front of you. The film builds its tension around what happens next, because once that door is opened, loyalty starts asking uncomfortable questions. While the film takes creative freedom, it’s still based on real events. Back in 2016, Miami-Dade police carried out the largest cash seizure in the city’s history, per Miami Herald. They uncovered roughly $24 million during a raid on a suspected dr*g trafficker’s home. That headline stuck with Carnahan, even if ‘The Rip’ isn’t a direct retelling of those events.
The spark for the movie actually traces back to Carnahan’s time working on ‘Bad Boys for Life’ in 2020. While serving as a screenwriter on the project, he teamed up with Chris Casiano. Casiano is a Miami police officer who supervised a tactical narcotics squad and worked as a technical advisor on the film. During their collaboration, Casiano shared his firsthand experience with the real-life cash bust. And somewhere between their conversations, the idea for ‘The Rip’ took shape. Casiano stayed involved as the project grew, again stepping in as a technical advisor.
His sway can be seen most clearly in Damon’s character, Lieutenant Dane Dumars. Dumars isn’t just dealing with the problems surrounding the money and the killing of his captain, he’s also carrying personal grief. That aspect of the character draws from Casiano’s own life, though not from the same point in time as the raid. In 2021, Chris Casiano lost his son, Jake William Casiano, who died of leukemia at just 11 years old. ‘The Rip’ is dedicated to Jake, a detail that flashes across the credits. Speaking with GoldDerby, Carnahan explained how carefully that choice was approached.
Carnahan recalled, “It's tricky, because you gotta go to your friend and say, ‘I don't want this to feel exploitive or cheap, and I don't want to take advantage of the memory of your boy…’” The goal, he said, was to create a space where grief could exist inside the story without feeling cheap, turning it into a living monument rather than a plot device. Casiano agreed. When Carnahan screened the finished film for him in Miami about a month ago, the reaction was overwhelming. Both men broke down afterward, a moment Carnahan described as “cathartic and amazing.”
