“She considered the novel ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ to be healthier and more attractive than her other books,” her biographer Joanna Shenkar once wrote.
However, as much as she trusted her instincts, it’s hard to believe that Highsmith knew that Tom Ripley would bring her an eminent place in the world’s literary firmament.
Tom Ripley not only brought her worldwide fame, but represented a new kind of antihero. He is unsympathetic, immoral, cold-blooded, but so striking that millions of her readers loved him.
From 1955 to 1991, Tom Ripley appeared in a total of five crime novels written by Patricia Highsmith, and his popularity is also reflected in the film adaptations, from “Purple Noon” from 1960, in which Ripley was portrayed by the legendary Alain Delon and, of course, , the one from 1999 when a young Matt Damon stepped into Tom Ripley’s shoes.
Fans of Patricia Highsmith’s famous work were probably delighted when in early April this year “Netflix“ presented a new adaptation of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” starring Andrew Scott.
“Netflix“ the mini-series is already being declared by many as a feast for the ears and eyes, due to the authentic style in which it was created. The series can boast of good reviews from critics, primarily because of its visual elegance and Scott himself, who believably, yet in his own way, told the story of a well-known character.
It’s been a little over two weeks since Tom Ripley reappeared, this time on “Netflix“about the quality of the series, but also about how well Andrew Scott did his job, time will tell… In other words, we will look for the answer in who will be our first association with Tom Ripley in the future – Matt Damon or Andrew Scott.
What makes this version of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” specific is that the series is visually extremely impressive. It was shot in black and white as a tribute to the Italian films made at the time when Tom was staying in Italy – at the beginning of the sixties of the last century. The fact that the fourth episode bears the title also shows that the intention is clear “La Dolce Vita“ just like a Fellini movie.
The black and white technique and the atmosphere it creates is exactly what it is “new“ Mr. Ripley differs from the one presented to us by Matt Damon, although the plot of the mini-series itself does not deviate from the literary work.
At the heart of the story is a multi-layered analysis of Tom Ripley as a young man who engages in various jobs, primarily fraud, in order to survive in New York.
His life changes when he meets a shipyard owner who gives him the task of traveling to Italy to convince his son Dickie to return to his hometown to take over the family business.
You know the rest if you have watched the previous adaptations or read the novel.
Precisely because of the popularity of Patricia Highsmith’s novel, as well as the recognition of her favorite protagonist, the question arises whether we needed another adaptation, that is, another Tom Ripley. The question gets another question mark at the end when we consider that it is “Netflix“ announced the series as one of the most important projects of this year, in which there is a lot of trust. But, lest we open Pandora’s box and talk about the lack of original television content for the umpteenth time, we’ll go back to the new Tom Ripley.
What makes the new adaptation of the famous novel different from the one with Matt Damon is that the choice of actor for this adaptation is quite unusual.
Namely, Andrew Scott, just like Johnny Flynn, is over 40 years old, and they play characters who are in their mid-twenties in the series. Thus, the characters they play get a certain amount of experience and certainly differences compared to what we are used to in the version with Matt Damon.
In addition to Andrew Scott and Johnny Flynn, the main roles are played by Pascal Esposito and Dakota Fanning who, commendably, brought her version of Marge Sherwood.
In addition to the shots that are the trademark of this mini-series, the connection with painting is striking, among other things, due to the fact that the young Dickie is an amateur painter.
Many famous works of art are shown throughout the series, such as Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist”. As much as Dickie is obsessed with Picasso, Tom admires Caravaggio, whose life story symbolically intertwines with Ripley’s fate throughout the series. Caravaggio fled Rome to Naples after being accused of various crimes and sentenced to death for murder. The second time, when Ripley meets Caravaggio’s work in the series, he has a murder behind him, while he fled from Rome to Naples where he attends church “San Luigi dei Francesi“ where three works by Caravaggio are displayed, among which is one of his most famous paintings, which hides his self-portrait “Martyrdom of Saint Matthew“.
The “Ripley” series is certainly not to be avoided, but it is far from a television spectacle “Netflix“ trying to introduce her. True, it deserves a recommendation for its aesthetics and Andrew Scott, but only embark on this adventure after leaving behind the version narrated by Matt Damon as Tom Ripley… If you’re lucky and don’t know Damon’s Ripley, you’ll definitely find the series much more interesting and impressive.
