Even Andrew Scott can’t save this colourless thriller
Andrew Scott is great in Ripley, Netflix’s new take on Patricia Highsmith’s literary creation. Unfortunately, his casting is the only smart decision here.
The series covers the same ground as The Talented Mr Ripley, Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film. But whereas that version was sun-drenched and gorgeous, this one, written and directed by Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List),
is made in dispiriting black and white. Individual shots look beautiful, but the overall effect is deadening.
Scott plays the title role of con artist Tom Ripley, hired to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, the son of a wealthy shipping boss, from a dissolute life in Italy. I halfexpected the production to pull a Wizard of Oz and switch to glorious Technicolor when Ripley arrives on the Amalfi Coast. But on we trudge in monochrome, a decision which seems even sillier when the script makes reference to colour, from the specific tone of a bathrobe to the “blue period” paintings Dickie produces in homage to Picasso, whose work hangs on his wall.
One of the reasons why Minghella’s film worked so well was that it starred a young Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, actors possessed of dazzling glamour and good looks. It made perfect sense that Ripley (portrayed then by Matt Damon) would want to inveigle himself into their world. But in the Netflix version, Dickie and his girlfriend are bored and boring, listlessly played by Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning. This can only be Zaillian’s fault, because Flynn is a magnetic screen presence elsewhere.
Scott, though, gets under Ripley’s skin. Liar, forger, sociopath, murderer – Ripley is all of these, but Scott also mines the character’s vulnerabilities. He is the eternal outsider, desperate to belong. But the actor is repeatedly let down by the production. A scene in which he tries on Dickie’s clothes and imitates his voice, only for Dickie to walk in and catch him, should be a moment of high dramatic tension. Here it falls flat, with Flynn filmed at a distance so that we can barely see his facial expression.
The eight episodes unfold at a stately pace (six would have done it). Things pep up in the second half when it becomes a cat-and-mouse game between Ripley and a police inspector, played by Maurizio Lombardi. The latter gives a charismatic supporting performance – which is more than can be said for Eliot Sumner, offspring of Sting and Trudie Styler. Cast your mind back to the film and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s scene-stealing turn as Freddie, Dickie’s friend, who meets Ripley and instantly smells a rat. Lord knows how Sumner landed the role, but their acting could politely be described as unpractised. It’s another of this drama’s dud choices. The film is also available on Netflix. Treat yourself. Anita Singh
Are air fryers the new Yorkshire? A cursory glance at the Channel 5 schedules suggests as much. Air Fryers: Sunday Lunch Made Easy was the broadcaster’s fifth air fryer programme this year. The channel has form for finding a ratings-friendly subject, then flogging it to within an inch of its life – as well as God’s own county, the likes of caravanning, Cornwall, cruises, royals and railways have all been pet topics – but its latest obsession seems like, well, a load of hot air.
Indeed, this was the start of a fourpart air-frying series. By next week, Channel 5 will have returned to the theme nine times in four months. One begins to wonder if it’s in the pocket of Big Air Fryer Inc. I don’t remember this much airtime being devoted to previous kitchen fads such as the Nutribullet or George Foreman Grill.
This low-rent hour demonstrated how the gadget can help with whipping up a Sunday roast. It was hosted, oddly, by Alexis Conran and Amanda Lamb. Because why hire a proper chef to front your cookery programme when you could get a consumer journalist and a property presenter? With additional contributions from Hi-de-hi!’s Su Pollard and Big Mo from Eastenders?
I wish I was making this up.
Staff at appliance brand Ninja must have been high-fiving at all the free product placement. The kitchen sets were so bland, it looked like they’d filmed in a Magnet showroom while the manager wasn’t looking. The food photography was unappetising. Everyone ooh-ed and aah-ed over mediocre-looking grub in a bid to make our mouths water. One Tiktok type described a dish as “literally unreal”, which was the final straw.
In a couple of weeks, the ubiquitous Jamie Oliver will leap aboard the bandwagon with his own air-fryer series on Channel 4. This programming trend isn’t going away anytime soon. Michael Hogan
Ripley ★★
Air Fryers: Sunday Lunch Made Easy ★