Netflix unspools eight-part ‘Ripley’
Netflix returns to one of the more familiar tales of the past half-century. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” the eight-part limited series “Ripley” evokes the early 1960s with lush black-and-white photography and period sets and details.
Andrew Scott (“Fleabag,” “Sherlock”) stars in the title role as Tom Ripley, an opportunistic chameleon. To his surprise and good fortune, he finds himself hired by a wealthy man to travel to Europe to retrieve his son, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), from his lush life of permanent vacation, as well as the clutches of his possessive girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Dakota Fanning). Once there, Ripley insinuates himself into their lives in ways that Marge finds suspicious. She has no idea of just how bad Mr. Ripley can be.
A tale of possessive jealousy, murder, impersonation and deeply paranoid flight, “Ripley” has been inspiring filmmakers for decades. French heartthrob Alain Delon starred as Ripley in the 1960 thriller “Purple Noon” (streaming on Criterion). Matt Damon starred in the 1999 Miramax adaptation (streaming on Showtime) opposite Jude Law as Greenleaf and Gwyneth Paltrow as Sherwood.
Highsmith wrote several sequels to the Ripley novel, inspiring German director Wim Wenders’ atmospheric 1977 thriller “The American Friend,” (rentable on major platforms), starring Dennis Hopper at a time when he was not exactly employable in Hollywood. Other Highsmith books have been made into less celebrated fare, including “Ripley Under Ground” (unavailable) from 2005, and the 2002 effort “Ripley’s Game,” (rentable on major platforms) starring John Malkovich, who also appears in this new Netflix series.
A slender if compelling novel by an author whose several biographies suggest deep psychological and sexual issues, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” has lent itself well to the beginning-middle-andend format of big-screen movies. It remains to be
seen how an eight-part treatment is anything other than a visual indulgence. That is the nature of streaming television.
Of the many films based on Highsmith’s other novels, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 thriller “Strangers on a Train,” (Tubi) is perhaps the most celebrated. While dark even by Hitchcock’s standards, it doesn’t come close to Highsmith’s twisted narrative. All the same, it’s the film in which Hitchcock cast his
own daughter as a murder victim whose strangulation is reflected in her signature eyeglasses.
› “Ripley” was originally developed for Showtime, recently rebranded with the inelegant mouthful “Paramount+ With Showtime.” Paramount+ begins streaming the final season of its signature series “Star Trek: Discovery” starting today.