Ripley (Netflix series, 2024)
A new series by Steven Zaillian, filmed in black and white, starring Andrew Scott (All Of Us Strangers) in the leading role, and based on the classic novel The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith?
I’d probably give it four stars, just based on that information alone!
To begin with, author Patricia Highsmith (1921 - 1995) is nothing short of a legend. She wrote more than twenty novels and her work led to over two dozen movie adaptations. Her first novel was Strangers On A Train (1950), which became one of Alfred Hitchcock’s great thrillers. She also wrote (under a pseudonym) the lesbian novel The Price of Salt (1952), which in 2015 became the Todd Haynes masterpiece Carol starring Cate Blanchett.
In 1955 Highsmith wrote the psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley, the first of five books about this charming sociopath. In her books she raises questions about identity and morality, that due to their ambiguous nature stir the imagination of filmmakers to this day. He is quite evil, but as a poor sod moving around in privileged circles, we see that the rich are (casually) evil too.
The Talented Mr. Ripley has been filmed a fair number of times before. You’ve probably seen (or heard about) the movie version from 1999, directed by the late great Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) and starting Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, the also late and very great Philip Seymour Hoffmann and, last but not least, Matt Damon as Ripley. (If you haven’t seen it, It’s still on tv a lot and it’s totally worth the watch). It’s one of my favorite movies.
Based on the first few episodes I’d say this new version is just as great, and visually as gorgeous, but with a completely different mood and tone.
Andrew Scott is Ripley, a small time crook living in New York in the early 1960s, who is hired by a wealthy man, Herbert Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan), to go to Italy to convince his -lson Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) to return to the United States. He’s been there for years now, with his girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning) in a small town near Naples, pretending to be a writer or a painter, but instead spending his irrevocable trust fund living it up.
Ripley’s job description sounds simple enough, were it not for the fact that he has plans of his own and wants to live the good life too by doing, well, some bad stuff.
And so Ripley, who has the personality of a blank canvas - a supposed actor’s dream as you can project everything and anything on him - tries to weave a complex web of deception, fraud and even murder, that has kept generations glued to page and screen.
Andrew Scott is, of course the right man for the job, able to go from hot to cold and back in the blink of an eye. He’s played so many great roles, but due to his acting All Of Us Strangers was possibly my favorite movie of last year, while before that he was also unforgettable as Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes series with Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and Martin Freeman as Watson. And yes, he was also The Hot Priest in Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fleabag series. I hope he wins his Oscar and his Emmy someday!
But back to Ripley, before I get too carried away. The new eight part series is written and directed by Oscar-winner Steven Zaillian, who has written movies like Schindler’s List and The Irishman, to name but a few.
He (and basically everyone else) has brought his A-game to Ripley. So even though the fact it’s in black and white - and lovingly shot by the great Robert Elswit - means it probably won’t be for everyone, cause yes, it does feel more artsy, I still suggest you’d give it a try.
The Minghella version made great use of the colors provided by the Amalfi coast to provide for an exuberant spectacle, while this one uses its black and white tones to invoke a neo noir world made up of various shades of grey with an undercurrent of existential longing.
To add to this - and I accept that this may just be me - I was at times even reminded of the work of Michelangelo Antonioni, whose existential movies like L'avventura (1960) and La Notte (1961) are some of my all-time favorites too.
I won’t deny that this is yet another IP-play, but like Shakespeare, some things are worth revisiting. So what’s keeping you? Dive in, the water’s lovely…
Note: in half an hour I will also sent out my review of The First Omen, so stay tuned and check your inbox, ad folder or even spam box if you don’t see it…