What Is the Story About?
This American psychological thriller series is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, and the first series adaptation of the novel after two previous movie adaptations.
The series follows Top Ripley, a clueless and ambition-less small-time conman who makes a living out of conning people and the web of lies and crimes he ought to build around him to steal someone’s identity. The show is centered around how Tom Ripley’s life changes once he is hired by a wealthy man to convince his son Dickie Greenleaf to return back home from Italy. How does Dickie Greenleaf’s lifestyle blind and lure Ripley to a series of crimes, deceit, fraud and murder? What happens to Dickie and how does Ripley manage to mask his identity theft? The six episode series explains all of these questions.
Performances?
Andrew Scott‘s Tom Ripley despite all the age-inappropriate casting criticisms is undeniably the most alluring element of the show. As someone who has been charming the audience with gentle demeanor, irresistible grace, emotional quotient and charm in his previous works, Scott ensures there’s not even a shadow of gentleness in his Ripley. His Ripley is seductive , sinister, full of lies, manipulative, menacing and intimidating. His actions are predatory alarms for anyone to stay away from him. Rightfully Dakota Fanning’s Marge Sherwood is wary of him and taps on his nefarious deeds as the audience secretly root for the famous anti-hero.
Dakota Fanning plays Marge Sherwood, Dickie Greenleaf’s girl-friend. She heads the proceedings and investigation once Greenleaf goes missing and Ripley with her smart calculations and intelligence. Johny Flynn’s Dickie Greenleaf is a brat. A spoiled one at that. He is equally annoying but deep down still a likeable character sincerely portrayed in monochrome. Eliot Sumner’s Freddie Miles is equally magnetic and impactful. However, Maurizio Lombardi as Inspector Pietro Ravini is a milestone casting decision considering how the actor goes toe-to-toe with Scott in some of their brilliantly staged and executed scenes together.
Analysis
A series adaptation of the famous novel ‘The Talented Mr.Ripley’ written by Patricia Highsmith, Netflix’s Ripley is written and directed by the legendary Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian (writer of The Irishman, The Girl with Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball, Schindler’s List, Gangs of Newyork, Hannibal etc to name a few). It is the first serial adaptation of the popular novel, post the 1960 and 1999 movie adaptations.
The series begins with a man dragging a dead body down the stairs. The narrative then takes a shift to 1960s New York where a petty conman Tom Ripley gets scouted by a detective in his small apartment to carry out a task for Herbert Greenleaf – a wealthy shipping magnate. Herbert Greenleaf asks Tom Ripley to persuade his son Dickie Greenleaf to return back home from his clueless and irresponsible European Tour, believing him to be friends with Dickie.
Tom meets Dickie and his girlfriend Marge Sherwood who is a writer and develops a dangerous obsession with Dickie’s luxurious lifestyle. Tom wishes and desperately wants Dickie’s life for himself and he is ready to risk everything to gain what he wanted, even if that means a murder.
While the previous movie adaptations of the novel were largely invested in ideas of greed, identity theft, deception and murder, Zaillian’s Ripley aspires to be a thorough noir centered around the main character’s survival and unabashed immorality with exemplary black and white imagery, carefully staged symmetric shots and foreshadowing. The show loves it’s lights, shadows, Caravaggio and stairs. In fact, throughout the show there are shots of stairs hinting at the social climber and identity thief that Ripley is.
One of the biggest strengths and also a visible drawback of Ripley is its casting. While Andrew Scott’s Ripley, in his 30s is alluring, seductive and all things impeccable in the show, the character in the literary source material was in his early 20s.
The novel celebrates Ripley, a conman turned murderer, an anti-hero who keeps getting away from all his deceptive criminal deeds and murders. He walks scott-free every single time and even the most obvious way to nail him gets relegated to least importance. When the novel gets a series adaptation, this flaw stands out and the 8 episode long duration doesn’t help the cause either.
Ripley is probably the most beautifully shot and produced Netflix series in a long while. The creators produced a remarkable show from a highly popular literary work and an extraordinary Andrew Scott elevates it notches above with his pitch perfect performance. However, the show might not hook audiences of all tastes. The narrative takes quite a while to get the ball rolling and sometimes the pace can be excruciatingly slow.
To put it shortly, Ripley is a must watch show for how it blends and bends noir and thriller with an exemplary cast and crew at its helm.
Music and Other Departments?
Ripley is unarguably one of the most technically sound productions to have ever landed on Netflix. The production design is impeccable and the cinematography from legendary Robert Elswit acts as a main character in itself. The hypnotic monochrome imagery, symmetry and lighting elevates the show to epic proportions. Jef Russo’s music and score makes no mistake and meanders along the writing’s course.
Highlights?
Noir treatment
Andrew Scott’s performance
Supporting Cast B
lack and White Imagery
Cinematography
Production Design
Drawbacks?
Not universal
Elongated pace
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes
Ripley Series Review by Binged Bureau
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