Ripley
Summary
Netflix’sRipleyhas received mixed reviews , with critic and fans both divided over some elements of the law-breaking drama . base onThe Talented Mr. Ripleyby Patricia Highsmith , Ripleyfollows a con artist as he travels from New York to Italy and becomes obsessed with an former acquaintance . This obsession take a dark round , and Tom Ripley soon leads the Italian police on a winding chase across the land . Andrew Scott star as the sociopathic fraudster , with Johnny Flynn , Dakota Fanning , Eliot Sumner and Maurizio Lombardi in supporting roles .
There are a few key factor which makeRipleyquite unlike anything else Netflix has produce , from its fateful and white aesthetic to its glacial pace . These factors have give toRipley ’s inconsistent decisive response . The other grown intellect for this is the bold choicesRipleymakes in adapting Highsmith ’s workplace . This has proven controversial among readers and fan of other adaptation , particularly the 1999 movie starring Matt Damon . There are good reasons for all ofRipley ’s stylistic choices , but it look a tough challenge to be judged on its own term .
8Ripley Being Entirely In Black & White
The monochrome aesthetic has its pros and cons
The black and ashen illuminatesRipley ’s use of Caravaggio paintings , with the integral show replicating the chiaroscuro style of the Italian master .
Ripleyis undoubtedly one of the most visually impinge on Netflix appearance of all clock time , with a bold bootleg and white palette that instantly makes it place upright out from most other modern TV appearance . However , the black and white aesthetic can be off - lay for some viewers . Ripley ’s contraband and white lookhas been criticize by some devotee of Patricia Highsmith ’s novel and other moving picture adaptation for ignoring the aspirational aspects of Dickie ’s life . Dickie lives a charmed lifespan in a sun - drenched Italian coastal township , but it does n’t seem so enviable without the lovingness of color .
Of course , there are flock of good reason whyRipleydoesn’t use color . The monochromous palette highlight the angles of the beautiful computer architecture and the textures of certain objects . Tom is enchant by symbol of wealth , so it makes common sense for him to be drawn to the sleek radiancy of a glass ashtray and the dark viscosity of Italian vino . The black and white also illuminatesRipley ’s use of Caravaggio painting , with the entire show retroflex the chiaroscuro style of the Italian skipper . The entire show , visually and thematically , is about the interplay between sparkle and shadow .
The Netflix special serial publication Ripley was filmed almost totally in scenic parts of Italy as the titular con artist play an elaborated game of deception .
7Ripley’s Slow Pacing
The eight episodes amount to the slowest of slow burns
Ripleymay let down fan of the crime genre who were expect a tight - pace thriller about a con creative person working his manner through Europe
Ripleymay disappoint fans of the crime music genre who were expecting a fast - paced thriller about a hustle artist working his way through Europe , but this adaptation is much more concerned with Tom ’s psyche and decisions . By slowing thing down , Ripleybrings the hearing into Tom ’s shoes . He may start out as something of an riddle , but extended sequences of him ascend endocarp steps and mopping up blood highlight the mundaneness of his action . Tom may be a globe - trot hustle military personnel , but his day - to - day life resemble admin and make-work .
Ripleyis no thrill hinge upon . It prefers to tardily bend up the high temperature on its friend . Rather than a orotund blow - out argument with the tec , Tom has to submit to a serial of protracted interview which revolve around minute details and scarce detectable discrepancies . The message is clear : Tom wo n’t get off his situation by run or combat . He must be patient and savvy . There ’s an lift up quality to the entire process of watching Tom think and rethink . This deliberate slowness also means thatRipley ’s violent death scenescarry much more weight , due to the sheer dividing line .
Custom image by Yeider Chacon
6Comparisons To Matt Damon’s The Talented Mr. Ripley
The 1999 movie was a critical and commercial success
comparison between the Netflix series and the motion picture were always inevitable , but they are separate works with separate goal .
Many people have been depict to Netflix’sRipleybecause of the 1999 movie starring Matt Damon , Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow , rather than the novel itself by Patricia Highsmith . comparability between the Netflix series and the movie were always inevitable , but they are disjoined workings with disjoined goals . The movie may be more aspirational , more charming and more inviting , butRipleyisn’t trying to compete on any of these fronts . rather , it aims to furnish a more intoxicant and opaque adaptation of the novel .
Ripleydiffers from the Matt Damon moviein many way , but this makes it a more faithful adjustment of Patricia Highsmith ’s novel . While the pic invents several characters , the Netflix series largely adhere to what is on the page . It would be hard for any serial publication to double the good looks and charisma of the movie ’s cast , and the sun - soaked Italian backdrop has a beauty all of its own , butRipleyshows that there is more than one way to interpret Highsmith ’s work . It should n’t be compared straight to the movie , because it has unlike end .
The 2024 Netflix modified series Ripley is the latest of a number of films and television serial that were adapted from Patricia Highsmith ’s novels .
5Andrew Scott’s Tom Ripley Performance & Characterization
Andrew Scott plays Tom as less charming and more deranged
take on a popular character ineluctably comes with direct comparisons to other actors who have bet the same function , and people will have their own favorite Tom Ripley .
Andrew Scott ’s portrayal of Tom Ripley has bring in him plenty of praise , but just as much critique . Taking on a pop character inevitably comes with unmediated comparisons to other actors who have played the same part , and people will have their own favourite Tom Ripley , whether that ’s Matt Damon , Alain Delon , or someone else . In line to these other doer , Scott ’s Tom Ripley is much less affable . He ’s a slimy psychopath who somehow manages to ingratiate himself with Dickie Greenleaf . Their friendly relationship does n’t seem highly natural inRipley .
Scott ’s Tom Ripley is cold - full-blooded and violent . A career of forging signatures and falsifying documents in New York has give him just enough insincere geniality to skate by , but Marge , Freddie and Inspector Ravini do n’t have to work firmly to see beyond his flimsy charade . Scott ’s edition of Tom Ripley comes across as entirely unlikable , and this induce him harder to root for . With so much of the show ’s time spent with Tom by himself , this has madeRipleya challenging sentry for some critics and lover likewise .
4Eliot Sumner’s Performance As Freddie Miles
Eliot Sumner changes Freddie’s role in the story
Eliot Sumner ’s performance inRipleyhas been criticise for an apparent lack of warmth , and this could be another direction in which the Netflix serial publication stand from comparison to the 1999 movie .
Tom Scott is n’t the only actor whose public presentation has come under scrutiny inRipley . Eliot Sumner plays Freddie Miles , a good friend of Dickie and Marge who tempt the couple to spend Christmas with him . Freddie later confronts Tom in Rome at the apartment which he believe is being lease by Dickie . Sumner shares as much on - screen chemistry with Johnny Flynn , who play Dickie , as they do with Andrew Scott , that is to say very picayune . However , this only highlight the vapid nature of their upper - division societal world . Their friendly relationship are found on wealth and consideration , rather than real compatibility .
Eliot Sumner ’s operation inRipleyhas been criticized for an apparent deficiency of warmth , and this could be another way in which the Netflix series suffers from comparisons to the 1999 picture show . Philip Seymour Hoffman dally Freddie Miles inThe Talented Mr. Ripley , and his friendly relationship with Jude Law ’s Dickie Greenleaf comes across authentically . Freddie is a playfulness - loving cad in the moving-picture show . Tom still hat him , as he does in the Netflix serial publication , but there ’s an added sensation that he ’s overjealous of his status , wealth , and personality . Eliot Sumner ’s Freddie is just a gadfly who Tom require to swat away .
Ripley differs from The Talented Mr. Ripley in some regards , with the new Netflix serial publication presenting a different way of enjoying a classic .
3Ripley’s Characters Lack Sexual Energy
Patricia Highsmith’s Freudian characterization makes The Talented Mr. Ripley More Captivating
In the novel , Tom ’s fascination with Dickie is tinged with undertones of Freudian psychosexual obsession . Tom may desire to become Dickie because this is the only outlet he can find out for his feelings of luxuria .
One of the most compelling undercurrent ofThe gifted Mr. Ripleyis the enigma of Tom ’s sex . Different adaptations have approached this equivocalness in unlike ways , but Netflix’sRipleypays very picayune attention to this side of Tom ’s character . In the novel , his fascination with Dickie is distort with undertones of Freudian psychosexual obsession . Tom may want to become Dickie because this is the only outlet he can find for his feeling of lust . By wearing his clothes and using his belongings , Tom can act out a perverse phantasy about owning Dickie in some fashion .
Tom ’s story continue after the events ofRipley , and he marries a adult female in Patricia Highsmith ’s stick with - up novel . However , this marriage is as much about status and wealth as it is about romance . There are plenitude of hints that Tom is quash his true sexuality . Without this element of Tom ’s character , Ripleyis a little safe and a little less compelling than it could be . ButTom is n’t the only character who seems void of any sexual touch . Dickie and Marge ’s relationship is never truly convincing , and part of the reason for this is their want of any real physical closeness .
2The Age Of The Characters
Tom, Dickie, Marge and Freddie are much younger in the novel
Rather than being an ambitious grifter willing to grasp what he wants in the reality , Ripley ’s champion is midway - aged , and this commute how his development reads on - screen .
One of the most immediately obvious changesRipleymakes to the novel is that the characters are much older in the Netflix serial . WhereasTom and Dickie are in their 20s in the novel , the Netflix series makes them much older . Andrew Scott and Johnny Flynn are both in their 40s . This submit a few problem forRipley . The idea that Dickie ’s parents would be so concerned about him score mother wit if he is a late college graduate lacking a mother wit of commission , but it does n’t read quite as smoothly if he graduated from college close to 20 years ago .
Theages of the characters inRipleymakes some of their family relationship seem unusual . Dakota Fanning and Eliot Sumner are both much young than Johnny Flynn , and they do n’t look as if they would realistically be moving in the same social circles . Putting these ordered vault to one side , aging Tom deepen his fibre in a major way thatRipleynever truly addresses . Rather than being an challenging grifter unforced to comprehend what he wants in the man , Ripley ’s admirer is middle - aged , and this changes how his evolution reads on - screen .
Steven Zaillian , the creator and showrunner of Netflix ’s Ripley star Andrew Scott , share his thoughts on the possible action of time of year 2 .
1Inspector Ravini’s Role
The detective angle bring the film noir elements of Ripley to the fore
It ’s important to see the law closing in on Tom , but Lombardi is such a scene - stealing presence that he threatens to take over the show .
Inspector Ravini is given a big role in the previous episodes ofRipley , and this is one of the key way in which the serial deviates from the novel . Maurizio Lombardi is one of the outstanding performing artist in thecast ofRipley . He plays the Italian police detective with determination , focus , and the everlasting amount of weariness . Ravini seems as though he has seen and heard it all before , right up untilRipley ’s shameful endingreveals the depths of his ignorance . Despite Lombardi ’s intensely watchable performance , Ripleyhas been criticized for focus so intemperately on the detective .
With its moving-picture show noir aesthetic and its period mount , Ripleydevelops into a investigator enigma with ease . However , reducing the game of a snaky con creative person to a law dramatic event is fairly simplistic . It ’s crucial to see the practice of law close in on Tom , but Lombardi is such a scene - stealing presence that he threatens to take over the show . The one element of his fiber that is hard to conceive is that he does n’t see through Tom ’s cheapjack camouflage in Venice . This is perhaps the single most divisive bit inRipley , and one that threaten to break the abatement of skepticism in an otherwise engrossing drama .
