1 of 5 | Andrew Scott is the new Tom Ripley. Photo courtesy of Netflix
LOS ANGELES, April 4 (UPI) -- Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley was the subject of several movies, most famously 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Matt Damon. The Netflix series Ripley, premiering Thursday, is little more than an extended retelling of the first book.
In 1961, Herbert Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan) sends Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) to Italy to persuade his son Dickie (Johnny Flynn) to come home. Ripley grows to enjoy Dickie's lavish lifestyle and doesn't want to give it up himself.
Surely, Highsmith fans will appreciate the added nuances writer/director Steven Zaillian could include in an eight-part series. But ultimately, they don't add dramatically more to the story.
The series premiere spends time showing Ripley running a billing scam on behalf of a chiropractor, but that's all to say Ripley is a convincing con artist. The murder that takes place - and Ripley's cover-up - encompasses an entire episode, but the end result is the same.
Dickie is more contemptuous of his girlfriend, Marge (Dakota Fanning), in this version, which adds a subtle motivational change for Marge's co-dependence on Dickie.
As in the movie adaptations, Ripley must tell more lies to cover up his previous lies. Scott conveys the charm that makes people believe Ripley, and the sinister sociopathy that makes him so determined to perpetrate those cons.
It looks like Ripley resents everyone when they're not looking. And, for "Hot Priest" fans, Ripley gets Scott in a Speedo, too.
Ripley was filmed on location, so the Italian settings are a standout for television. Filming them all in black-and-white is interesting, but hardly evokes classic noir with digital television photography.
Ripley isn't boring; the underlying material is strong. It could be a decent introduction to the character for further exploration in reading or film adaptations like the French Purple Noon or German The American Friend.
But it's hard to say the series adds anything. It just indulges the luxury of taking its time.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
