Trailer for the series "Ripley"/Netflix
"Ripley", which appeared on Netflix last week and is based on the book "The Talent of Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith, is not as good as the latest film adaptation of the book. That in itself is a problem - "The Talented Mr. Ripley" from 1999 is one of the best movies of the nineties, and one of my personal favorites. But this is not where the series falls. The main problem is that this is a terribly boring series.
Tom Ripley is a brilliant sociopath, he is the world champion of impersonation, forgery and fraud, and the thing is that in principle we are for him. This is one of the reasons why he was a particularly beloved literary character (and the fact that Matt Damon played him in the past certainly helps). The series follows the exploits of Ripley, who one day is hired by a shipping magnate to reach the pastoral town in Italy where Dickie, his free-eating son, lives on his own. The shipping tycoon expects Ripley to be able to convince his son to return home to New York, where his parents are waiting for him. If Ripley succeeds in the task, he will receive a particularly handsome sum - and Ripley, who does not come from a wealthy home like that Dickie, needs this money.
Ripley arrives in the magical town, and very quickly finds Dickie, with his beautiful girlfriend, Marge, by his side. But soon he decides to go for a more complex trick, and steal Dickie's identity. Why? Good question - it could be that Ripley is in love with Dickie. Maybe Ripley wants to be Dickie. Maybe he just really wants all his money. It may be that he does this simply because it is his nature - a man without an identity who must find one of his own and goes for the richest and most shiny one he can find.
What is this strange casting? Andrew Scott, "Ripley"/Lorenzo Sisti/NETFLIX
"Ripley" was not made in haste: the photography, the locations, the design, all look great. The basic plot skeleton was written well enough almost 70 years ago, and no screenwriter could really destroy it. Still, creator Steven Zailian chose, for some reason, to present us with the most bland version of Ripley, Dickie and Marge's story.
I have no doubt that it was a choice of Zailian, a man with an impressive resume that includes an Oscar for writing "Schindler's List", and other films such as "The Irishman", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and the series "The Night of the Event". Instead of reveling in all that is melodramatic, sexy and intense about this story, he chooses to treat it with matter-of-fact dryness. In fact, I was told that this is the most faithful version of the book of all the screen adaptations made so far of the book (which was first made into a film in 1960, under the name "The Eye of the Sun", starring none other than Alain Delon). It is possible that it is precisely this loyalty that exhausts "Ripley"; But of course it may be the choice to ask the cast to deliver their lines in a tired and unenergetic tone, as if the characters they are playing have no interest in being there at all.
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anemic. Johnny Flynn, "Ripley"/Netflix
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Andrew Scott could have been a brilliant casting for the role of Ripley - to the extent that the series was based on one of the later books in the "Ripleyade" written by Highsmith after "The Talent of Mr. Ripley". He is charismatic, dark, handsome and gay - qualities that fit Tom Ripley very well. Anyone sharp enough about the cinematic plans will have seen Scott give a low-key, heartbreaking performance in We're All Strangers, but he seems to have left his presence at home as he left the set every day. What's good for the handsome priest of "Fleebag" isn't good enough for our unhinged anti-hero. Ripley doesn't evoke empathy, and in principle that's fine - Hannibal Lecter didn't evoke empathy in me either. The problem is that Andrew Scott's Ripley isn't interesting enough either. I didn't enjoy his company, and when my hero is actually the villain, it should at least be nice to see him do terrible things.
Almost none of the cast members cover for Scott. Johnny Flynn Enemie as Dickie. The casting of the fluid, gender-fluid Eliot Sumner as Freddie Miles, Dickie's bitter friend, could have been inspired. But he also fell for Zailian's stupid directing instruction, which was apparently something like "pretend you don't care about everything that's happening here, and do whatever it takes so that we don't care either." The former child star, Dakota Fanning (who plays Marge), is the standout of the cast. Her Marge is the only character whose fate I have yet begun, to some extent, to be interested in.
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The only one who is still interested in her fate. Dakota Fanning with Scott, "Ripley"/Philippe Antonello/NETFLIX
"Ripley" is a series that confuses seriousness with sophistication. Between slowness and moderation. Between restraint and boredom. We must treat her with respect, because she progresses at a snail's pace. We must respect her, because she sees any potential for sensationalism and interest and runs away from it like fire. This series looks like a high-quality and clever piece of television, but as Joan Cusack said in "Working Girl": "I also like to dance in my underwear sometimes, but that still doesn't make me Madonna."
"Ripley" adapts a 250-page book into a 370-minute series, which contains too many pointless scenes of wandering the streets and museums, delighting in references to painters such as the Italian Caravaggio to compare itself to a false representation of artistry. Much more will be said about the elegant and sparkling cinematography of Oscar winner Robert Alvist ("It will end in blood"), but beautiful cinematography doesn't help when it doesn't really advance the story, and the choice to shoot in black and white does give the series the look of a classic film noir, but it doesn't hide it On the basic failures in Zailian's direction.
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Casting that could have been full of inspiration. Elliott Sumner, "Ripley"/Netflix
And honestly, I just don't understand why. After all, there are five "Ripley" books. Two of them were adapted for cinema ("Ripley's Game" released in 2002 cast John Malkovich in the main role, who makes a guest appearance in the series towards the end). Andrew Scott would have been great casting for the older Ripley - The Talent's Ripley is supposed to be in his twenties, as is Dickie (played by the 41-year-old Flynn). And this is a problem, because the main characters' rebirth of youth is an essential part of the story - their aging in the series does not add any additional layer of interest or complexity to it.
After all, I could recommend "Ripley" to anyone interested in the magical landscapes of Italy, in evil murder stories, in sexy identity games. But a few clicks to the right of the fresh series you can find, as of now, "The Talent of Mr. Ripley", right here on Netflix. And there really is no need for a new version of a book that has been adapted into a movie that hasn't aged a day.
All eight episodes of "Ripley" are available on Netflix.
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