Ripley’s first season is now streaming on Netflix.
By Elazar Abrahams
Netflix’s new glitzy serialization of Patricia Highsmith’s thrilling 1955 novel ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ is, in short, one of this year’s best streaming offerings so far. In the hands of showrunner Steven Zaillian, who both writes and directs all eight episodes, a project that could have been easily overshadowed by the well-known and celebrated 1999 film adaptation instead ends up being a richer experience than anticipated.
To be sure, the Matt Damon-led movie, bearing the original book’s full title, definitely looms over the first couple episodes of the new show. After all, as charming as Johnny Flynn is as an actor (check out the supremely underrated Lovesick, also on Netflix!), his version of spoiled runaway rich boy Dickie Greenleaf pales in comparison to Jude Law. For cinephiles, Philip Seymour Hoffman is the definitive Freddie Miles, to which this series’ Eliot Sumner cannot compare. But given how much more time this retelling of Ripley has to breathe and develop, even the purists will, at some point, be able to shake the previous iteration of the story and become enveloped in this one.
As viewers take in the tale of Tom Ripley’s turn from petty NYC con-man to straight up murderer and identity thief on the coast of Italy, they’ll see how intentional and methodical every artistic choice here is. The filmmaking and aesthetics are sublime, from shots that linger on blood-spattered apartment stoops to an expertly framed Tom and Freddie on a fateful boat ride. The entire season is presented in black and white, devoid of any color, but somehow still seems properly shaded; as Tom begins to hop around the country with detectives hot on his tail, all of the locales have a distinctly different flair. In truth, the beauty of Ripley sometimes overshadows the propulsive plot, and one’s mileage may vary on this. But this is not a classic case of style over substance, merely style so well attuned that the substance, even if all there, can end up feeling secondary to the “vibes.”
Of course, we need to talk about the lead and titular performance. Andrew Scott is a terrific Tom Ripley. Scott is no stranger to villains, as he spent years on the BBC’s Sherlock embodying the devious Jim Moriarty. Whereas his Moriarty was flamboyantly evil, his Ripley is much more reserved but just as calculated. Somehow, despite Scott’s subdued expressions, we can see all the gears turning in Tom’s head. Ripley isn’t an antihero; his actions leave no grey area, and the man is morally bankrupt. How twisted, then, that we can’t help but root for him in the cat-and-mouse game that ensues in the season’s back half. I think that is a testament to Scott’s acting. This Ripley isn’t invincible — he’s always just a step away from being caught, which makes the payoff of escape so satisfying.
The season covers the first book in Highsmith’s series, but there are four other books that track the continuing crimes of the sociopath. Hopefully, Zaillian and Scott reteam to adapt the rest because they’re on to something special, and with stories not as familiar to the public, Ripley could develop into something even better.
I give Ripley an A-.
TV and City 