Patricia Highsmith's 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley is considered one of the greatest thrillers of all time. It spawned several film adaptations, including Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon and Jude Law. Given the 1999 film's commercial and critical acclaim, a series adaptation for the streaming era was almost inevitable, and after being sold by Showtime to Netflix, “Ripley” stars Andrew Scott as the title character. is wearing loafers. Academy Award-winning writer and director Steven Zaillian has put his own spin on psychological thrillers with films such as Schindler's List (which won an Oscar for adaption) and his 2016 HBO limited series The Night Of. I am adding an interpretation. Twisted and deeply disturbing, this “Ripley” feels even more sinister and stilted than its predecessor, making the show more difficult than engaging.
Shot in spectacular black and white, “Ripley” begins in 1961 Rome with a man dragging a dead body down a marble staircase. But the story doesn't start here. Travel back in time six months and we find ourselves in New York's Lower East Side. Far from the trendy neighborhoods seen in today's movies and TV shows, this neighborhood is home to some of the Big Apple's most unpleasant residents.
Here, the audience is introduced to Ripley, a petty thief who makes a living by swindling money from chiropractor patients in a small, rat-infested apartment. Just as his latest plan is coming to an end, he stumbles upon an opportunity that will change his life forever. One night at a bar, he is approached by a private investigator (Bokeem Woodbine, underused as a detective) who mistakes Tom for a friend of a wealthy client's son. Shortly after, Tom is on a ship bound for Italy, tasked with luring his “friend” Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) to return to his worried parents. Seeing an all-out-of-pocket trip to Europe and the Greenleaf family's wealth as a chance to seize the lifestyle he believes he deserves, Tom begins down a dark path stained with lies, deceit, and murder.
“Ripley,” more aesthetically beautiful than it is narratively appealing, reveals its mistakes in its first episode. The characters are older than in previous film adaptations (Scott and Flynn are both over 40), so it's unlikely that the Greenleaf family would send a stranger to look for their adult son. Moreover, with his calm demeanor, Tom doesn't even disguise the affection or familiarity necessary to carry out this ruse.
Dickie, a novice and untalented painter, warmly welcomes Tom, but his girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning) is immediately suspicious of Tom, who is supposed to be an acquaintance of Tom's. Her intuition is right, and by the end of Chapter 1, “The Hard to Find Man,” Tom begins to plan to make Dickie's life of luxury his own. What's hard to reconcile is that Tom is completely unattractive. Although he is quick-witted and able to meticulously plan his way out of the darkness, Tom's sociopathic nature and inability to show even a shred of humanity makes “Ripley” uncomfortable. This makes it a gloomy watch.
Still, the show is a stunning cinematic display, boasting lingering shots of Italy's monuments, canals, and architecture. But the episodes are painfully long and full of dead space. Tom spends a lot of time alone, planning his next move and cleaning up various bloody messes, so viewers can see him doing the painstaking work (typing up false documents, distributing evidence, etc.). You will be forced to spend time together until you have finished organizing (or organizing).
Additionally, Tom is a narcissist with limited interpersonal skills, while Dickie and Marge are not much better. Whether or not viewers sympathize with Tom's lies and schemes, there's little depth to the show's central couple. Dickie is aloof and naive, a trust fund baby entrusted with the world. He certainly doesn't deserve to be Tom's victim, but his lack of foresight makes him easy and pathetic prey. Meanwhile, although Marge sees through Tom's surface, she allows her own insight to be undermined by her rejection from Dickie. Her subsequent character arc is completely disappointing.
“Ripley” stumbles in part because Tom lacks seduction and likability. The series lacks any of the homosexual overtones of Minghella's films, which is a shame since Scott's sensuality radiates from the screen in other roles. In addition to his first novel, “Ripley,'' Highsmith wrote his four sequels about a con artist making his way through France and Germany. As an older, more experienced Tom, Scott's view of scammers may have been more in line with either of these stories. Also, given that Tom hatefully refers to his aunt who raised him, the flashbacks from his childhood would have made for a more solid story and added some necessary aspects to the character. I might have given it.
In the end, “Ripley” fails to offer a new or interesting perspective on the notorious con artist. Previous projects offered a more engaging experience where audiences were immersed in Tom's dangerous designs. Here, over eight tepid episodes, he never undergoes any fundamental changes. From the beginning, he's just a great grifter with no finesse.
'Ripley' will premiere on Netflix on April 4th.