Talented Mr. ‘reboot’
Netflix gets gritty with ‘Ripley’ remake
Hollywood loves a charming sociopath, and for good reason. As 2023’s “Saltburn” beautifully illustrated, divisive, morally ambiguous characters have a way of getting under the skin of the audience members and characters alike, staying within the fabric of each individual like a stubborn stain.As viewers try to sort out the motive behind the maniac, morals are called into question, boundaries are pushed and — for better or for worse — the most questionable events of the film often play on repeat in our heads. Mary Harron’s “American Psycho” (2000) achieved the same effect more than 20 years prior to last year’s “Saltburn,” but perhaps the most recognizable villain to fit this model originated in the 1950s.
Tom Ripley, who gives his surname to Netflix’s newest series, was first created in 1955 by thriller novelist Patricia Highsmith.While posthumously seen as somewhat of a divisive figure herself, Highsmith created Ripley to guide her wouldbe bestselling novel, “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” The novel spawned four sequels (published between 1970 and 1991) and grew to further acclaim in 1999, when it was adapted into the five-time Oscarnominated feature film of the same name. Now, 69 years after Ripley’s birth, Netflix makes its mark on the classic tale.
The eight-episode thriller series, “Ripley,” premieres Thursday, April 4, on Netflix.
As those who have seen or read “The Talented Mr. Ripley” already know, the story, based in the 1960s, revolves around an enterprising but suspicious young man named Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott, “Fleabag”), who is hired by a wealthy American industrialist to find his son, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn, “Emma,” 2020), and return him home to assume his duties in the family business. Little does the elder Mr. Greenleaf know, Ripley has little to no intention of bringing Dickie back stateside.
As Netflix puts it: “Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.”
The highly stylized, black-andwhite production marks leading man Scott’s first appearance since the sold-out West End stage production of “Vanya,” a modern take on Anton Chekov’s classic “Uncle Vanya.” Scott, who rose to fame as “the hot priest” in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s series “Fleabag,” can also be seen in the 2015 James Bond film “Spectre,” 2014’s biographical dramedy “Pride” and eight episodes of the Benedict Cumberbatch-led series “Sherlock,” to name a few.
Flynn, meanwhile, plays Dickie, a spoiled young man who prefers to spend his time and money lounging at Italy’s beaches and cafes over working for the industrial empire he is tapped to inherit. Some of Flynn’s credits to date include roles as Rory Lomax in “The Dig” (2021), Dylan in the Netflix series “Lovesick” and Mr. Knightley in the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma,” while his most anticipated upcoming role is arguably that of late fellow actor Richard Burton (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” 1966) in National Theatre Live’s “The Motive and the Cue” (which, like Scott’s “Vanya,” is a Londonbased stage production).
Joining Scott and Flynn for “Ripley” is former child star Dakota Fanning, who has made a name for herself in adulthood thanks to roles in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood” (2019), TNT’s “The Alienist” and Showtime’s “The First Lady.” In “Ripley,” Fanning portrays Marge Sherwood, Dickie’s love interest who is quick to suspect Tom of shady operations.
Eliot Sumner (“The Gentlemen,” 2019), Pasquale Esposito (“Hotel Portofino”), Maurizio Lombardi (“The Name of the Rose”) and Margherita Buy (“Mia Madre,” 2015) also star alongside Kenneth Lonergan (“White Noise,” 2022) and Ann Cusack (“Grosse Pointe Blank,” 1997).
Although IMDb has kept additional cast information fairly limited, the keen observer may have noticed a familiar face in the trailer: that of “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988) actor John Malkovich. Malkovich’s exact role has yet to be officially revealed as of writing, but it is worth noting that he also once starred as the titular unsettling grifter in 2002’s “Ripley’s Game.”
As it was for Anthony Minghella’s (“The English Patient,” 1997) 1999 adaptation of Highsmith’s novel, Ripley’s story was already in place prior to production. In the case of Netflix’s “Ripley,” the novel was adjusted for the small screen by its director, Steven Zaillian, the Oscar-winning writer behind “The Irishman” (2019), HBO’s “The Night Of” and Steven Spielberg’s silver screen classic “Schindler’s List” (1993).
And for those who loved “Saltburn” (and are wondering, post-intro, what any of this has to do with the much-discussed thriller), there has been plenty of speculation as to the nature of Ripley’s sexuality in the new miniseries.
Per an article on Them.us, in which author Samantha Allen ranks all five existing Ripley films “by gayness,” both Highsmith’s Tom Ripley and “Saltburn’s” Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan, “The Banshee’s of Inisherin,” 2022) share a penchant for “homoerotic class climbing in a dark academia setting.” But Highsmith, too, wasn’t entirely sure of Ripley’s sexuality.