Review of Ripley

For many years, I have been trying to get myself to read the Patricia Highsmith novels. Not just her novels surrounding Tom Ripley, but her work in general. It has been something I majorly procrastinated on, like so many other things in the world. Originally, this fascination stemmed from watching the 1990s adaptation: The Talented Mr. Ripley.

So when I saw that the television series Ripley was going to be a thing and put onto Netflix, I was game immediately to watch it. I knew this was right up my alley, especially when the trailer dropped and I saw it was exclusively filmed in black and white. Black and white movies are something I am absolutely obsessed with, as if it’s done right, then it can truly be a work of art.

As the series was added onto Netflix, I watched it immediately. It’s a limited series consisting only of eight episodes, and if you’re familiar with the story of Tom Ripley, then you’re not really going to be surprised by this show. The only difference to me is the aging of the characters: rather than the more young adult vibe of the 1990s movie, this series goes for mid-30s.

Dakota Fanning looks to be the youngest—and she’s one of the reasons I watched the show, too. I love the Fanning sisters and the kind of work they do.

Anyways, I can feel myself rambling, so let’s get into the summary and review.

Tom Ripley is sent to Italy to find Dickie Greenleaf, but instead catches the man in his elaborate web.

We first meet Tom in New York City, where he works as a conman. It’s the late 1950s, and Dickie Greenleaf’s father decides to hire Tom to go and convince his son to come home to the city. Dickie has been bumming around in Italy with his girlfriend Marge, and claims that he has been creating art. As we learn later, his art is incredibly mediocre, and he honestly has just kind of been vibing.

Now paid for to go to Italy, Tom heads out to the country, where he befriends Dickie and Marge. He lies and says that he is a former acquaintance from Princeton University, and claims that he is now an accountant in New York City.

Dickie can’t remember him, but still accepts Tom into his social circle, although Marge has her suspicions. Tom tries to alleviate those by helping her edit her novel, which seriously needs a lot of work. Their days are spent lounging in the sun, on an Italian beach, dining on some of the best food in the world, wine, and looking at art that only Dickie could potentially afford.

So the three of them begin hanging out more from this point onward, and Dickie and Marge begin to notice that something is up with Tom. When a friend named Freddie arrives, he casts further suspicion on Tom’s real identity. Tom then lies to Dickie further and tells him that his father hired Tom to come get him, but that he doesn’t actually want to get involved.

Dickie’s suspicions get worse, though, when he catches Tom wearing his clothes in his home. It’s from this point onward that their relationship begins to fracture, and it’s during a trip, when they’re on a boat, that Tom decides to murder Dickie. He beats him with an oar, then dumps the body to the bottom of the ocean, never to be found again.

He then checks out with both passports, beginning an elaborate hoax where he pretends to be Dickie, and Marge, who is worried to death about Dickie, tries to reach out to her missing boyfriend. Tom now has to navigate these two different identities, especially when the Italian police start getting involved.

Eventually, things may start catching up to Tom, or he might be able to wrangle himself out of the slippery mess he’s created and come out the victor of it all.

Overall Thoughts

I thought this series was so beautifully filmed. Italy in itself is beautiful in color, but the cinematographers in this one managed to make the series into a work of art that fits the neo-noir vibes so perfectly.

I think if you’re familiar with the story of the books or the previous movie you might get bored with this one in terms of plot. It’s still pretty much the same, with some holes due to the fact they condensed this down into eight episodes. I think they could have added two more to clarify some points, especially as we lost some of the original plot (i.e. how Tom takes on a gay lover).

But I wasn’t disappointed by this because of how beautiful is was to watch. Heck, I’d watch it again just to see the intricacies of the filming. If you’re interested in film as a work of art, this is definitely the show for you. Or if you’ve never seen the original, then this would be a fun ride.

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