Susan Granger’s review of “Ripley” (Netflix)
The idiom “Everything old is new again…” can be applied to writer/director Steven Zaillian’s sensational new noir Netflix series “Ripley,” based on Patricia Highsmith’s pulpy, best-selling novels.
Sociopathic antihero Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) is a down-on-his-luck grifter in 1961 New York who is hired by wealthy shipping magnate to travel to Italy to try to convince his prodigal son Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) to return home.
Tom’s acceptance of this lucrative job opens the door to a labyrinthine life of crime. As soon as he arrives in the picturesque coastal village of Atrani, he begins to ingratiate himself with entitled Dickie, much to the annoyance of his resentful girl-friend Marge Sherwood (Dakota Fanning), who is suspicious from the getgo.
“I’m not someone who takes advantage of people,” Tom claims when, in fact, that’s exactly who he is.
At Dickie’s villa, Tom learns about art, culture and beauty, particularly the distinctive use of light and shadow by Italian painter Caravaggio. He resents the intrusion of Dickie’s snobbish pal Freddie Miles (Eliot Sumner) and cleverly matches wits with Police Inspector Pietro Ravini (Maurizio Lombardi).
Traveling along the Amalfi coast to Rome, San Remo, Palermo and Venice, quick-witted Tom is a consummate con-man, a conniving cheat capable of committing brazen art theft, mail fraud, forgery and brutally murdering multiple people.
Graham Greene aptly described author Patricia Highsmith as a “poet of apprehension.” By having Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit (“There Will Be Blood”) film in austere black-and-white, Oscar-winner Steven Zaillian (“Schindler’s List,” “The Irishman”) gives an artistically stunning, noir essence to her murky, malevolent story.
Prior to this Netflix series, there have been five films about Tom Ripley; perhaps the most memorable is Anthony Minghella’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999), starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. Others include “Purple Noon” (1960), “An American Friend” (1977), “Ripley’s Game” (2002) and “Ripley Under Ground” (2005).
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ripley” is a tantalizing, tension-filled 10 – with all eight episodes now streaming on Netflix.
