Ripley: Review
By Sioph Leal
The latest iteration of Patricia Highsmith’s character comes to Netflix, with Andrew Scott taking on the titular role. A small-time con artist when we first meet him, Tom Ripley gets the chance of a lifetime when he’s hired by a wealthy man to convince his son to return home from Italy, whom he thinks Tom knows. It is the first step into Tom’s elevated life of fraud and murder, as he enjoys the life and wants it for himself.
Other versions of Ripley are known for their charismatic appeal, lavish looks, and the cold-blooded nature of the main character. Despite the massive talent of Andrew Scott, Ripley doesn’t do much other than walk around Italy, glare at some people, and occasionally commit a few murders and frauds. If you want a complex, cold-blooded character, then this is not the right adaptation. Ripley always gets away with his crimes, ranging from cons to killings, but there is an absurd nature to it in this version that suspending disbelief cannot help. Everyone is suspicious of Ripley, no matter what he is doing, ranging from Marge (Dakota Fanning) to strangers on the street who all meet Ripley with a lingering suspicion. While Ripley is known for being a cold-blooded killer, in this case, he just comes off as bored. In past versions, you couldn’t help but root for Ripley, but this version leaves much to be desired.
Relations with other characters come off as tired and long scenes of staring or repetitive passive aggression that add nothing to it. When being sent to convince Dickie (Johnny Flynn) to return home, Ripley typically develops a taste for Dickie’s life, his wealth, and an attraction to him. It normally toes the line at homoerotic subtext, but in this case, there is nothing there. There was no chemistry and just the same looks, with barely any hint of admiration for the lifestyle or obsession with the man himself. It seems as if Ripley only wants the money and not the lifestyle, despite that being a key component of the character. More time spent with Dickie and Ripley wouldn’t have done anything to help that, as there would have been more shots of Ripley walking next to Dickie, the same stoic look and occasional mimicking of accents and behaviours of which we still don’t see too much of.
The noir style would typically fit well with the psychological thriller, but there is nothing thrilling or stylised that works well for this series. Occasionally, there are some beautiful and expertly famed shots that add to the appeal of the series, but they aren’t enough to warrant eight episodes of repetitive walking and glowering.
Ripley could have easily been an interesting psychological drama with a fleshed-out, explored character, but the eight-episode run is a tiresome watch with pretty shots and nothing much else. There is no intrigue for the character or the murderous situations because all the fun and life have been drained out of the series.
Ripley will premire on Netflix on April 04th 2024.