Patricia Highsmith is the author of the Tom Ripley series of books, of which there have been a couple of films about this literary character.  The most famous of which came out back in 1999 called The Talented Mr. Ripley stars Matt Damon as the titular con man and forger. That version was directed by the late Anthony Mingella, and the new version of this character is written, directed, and created for Showtime/ Netflix by Steve Zaillian.

Tom (Andrew Scott, Sherlock) is toiling away in New York City, swindling seniors off of their savings when he is approached at a bar by a private investigator played by Bokeem Woodbine. He says that there is a man who wants to talk to him. When things start to go south for him, he decides he has nothing to lose, so he goes to see the man. It turns out the man’s son Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) is living the good life in Italy wasting his time painting and spending it on the beach and his boat with his girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning). The man, Dickie’s father, asks Tom to go to Italy and try to convince him to bring him back home. That his parents miss him.

Steve Zaillian is a huge fan of these books and this literary character. The way he chooses to film this world, which is in black and white, the entire time is gorgeous.  It’s shot as good, if not better than anything I’ve ever seen. The cinematography is by Robert Elswit. Every shot in this 8 part series is like a master shot. Whether it’s Ripley looking down a staircase or him walking down an alley, every single shot is impeccable.  It is one of the most beautifully shot shows I’ve ever seen. This is definitely going to win if not get nominated for Emmy Awards for the cinematography. 

If you’ve seen the 1999 film or the other film starring John Malkovich, you know Ripley befriends people to get close to them before stealing their identities and their money or wealth. This time around, Zaillian writes Ripley as a sympathetic character who has a sneaky side to him. He uses his skills as a forger and there to get close to Dickie and Marge before he strikes like a snake in the night. That’s the part of the story in the film that was a fun part. In this series, it’s more of a calculated risk on Ripley’s part to give Dickie and Marge the reason why he came to find them and lie about knowing them before. He’s very clever that way. Scott uses these scenes to show what a great actor he is.

Andrew Scott is coming off of an almost Academy Award nomination with All of Us Strangers. His work in Sherlock and Fleabag has proven to critics that he is a solid actor worthy of acclaim. All of Us Strangers though has put him on a whole new level. Now, he has followed that up with one of if not the best performances of his entire career as Tom Ripley.  He does so much subtle work here. Just all of the moments of checking in and out of hotels showing the forged passport he’s carrying around and his eyes are amazing. The times when he feels he has accomplished something. When he’s changing clothes and buying nice things, He shows he’s in a world where he doesn’t belong. A world where he’s not from. Scott is so good at all the little things it takes to play this character. 

I’m a huge fan of the 1999 film, but Steve Zaillian does something different with this property this time around. The episode titles give away some of the plots for each episode, but the titles are fascinating, to say the least. Ep 1 A Hard Man To Find, Ep 2 Seven Mercies, Ep 3 Ommerso, Ep 4 LA Dolce Vita  Ep 5 Lucio, These are just the first five episode titles and they have an interesting way of telling bits of the story that keep this show fresh and groundbreaking.  Anybody who read books or seen movies knows the story. It’s just how Zaillian chose to tell the story, and in the ways he directs it, that makes me so happy while watching it. It’s just that good! 

The series is a uniquely European show with British actors in the lead roles, Scott & Flynn. The rest of the supporting cast besides Fanning is mainly made up of locals in Italy. There are a lot of subtitles because quite a lot of the series is in Italian or narrated in English. These two things show how European it is. The setting of various towns in Italy helps bring that feeling home. Zaillian showed me that he wanted the setting and language of Italy to be like a character in the show. It is in every aspect of the series from the camera work to the music. I felt like I was in Italy while watching this show. Everything from the beaches to the architecture made me want to go there. The Italy in this series is gorgeous. 

There is one character in the show, Freddie, who was originally played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the 1999 film. This time around Zaillian decided to make the character a non gender character played by singer/musician Eliot Sumner. They get the vibe of the character from the book perfectly fine. I just wish that Zaillian hadn’t done this with the character. The 70s weren’t a time for gender-bending characters like this one. This is more of a modern-day trend. That being said they do a fine job in the role.  I would have rather seen a straight man in the role.

In the film, there was a musical identity to it that showed the flavor of Italy.  This time around there is Italian music and operatic music that completely get the feeling of this version of this story. The score and music choices make this a distinctly original telling of Highsmith’s book. Zaillian had specific choices in mind that he wanted to do and they worked very well for this European series quite nicely.  

A key element to the film and this series is the cat and mouse game that Tom plays with local authorities in Italy.  It takes up a short period in the film, but multiple episodes of this show. Zaillian is a master writer and director in regards to how he tells this part of the story. The back and forth between locations and characters he has the authorities talk to is brilliant. The writing as I mentioned is masterfully done. How Tom eludes the authorities is one of the best parts of this story and its incredibly well done in this series by Zaillian.

Ripley is one of the best series I’ve seen all year, neck and neck with Shogun, and one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in my entire life. The Talented Mr. Ripley is one of my favorite films from1999 and it is a film that is very hard to outdo. This series outdoes that film in almost every way. The first thing is the cinematography by Robert Elswit. This is the most gorgeous show I’ve ever seen. Every shot in this black-and-white series is like a master shot. Zaillian had a distinct vision for what the show was going to look like and it is impeccable looking. Scott is very good as well as Tom Ripley. He brings a whole new level to this character. With it being an eight-part series he has much more to do, and he does a great job. Zaillian took an established IP and reinvigorated it in a way I never thought he could. This is a show that should be nominated for Emmy Awards and possibly win some. It’s that good. He created a visionary take on a great literary character. I loved every minute of it. All eight episodes.

8 eight episodes of Ripley have been watched and reviewed 

5 stars

Dan Skip Allen