Ripley - English / Italian - Noir Crime Drama- 8 episodes (approx 50 mins) - Netflix
At the beginning of the year when Netflix unfurled its slate of original programming for the year , this limited series made it's way straight to my "must watch" list. Andrew Scott ( Moriarty from "Sherlock" and The priest from "Fleabag") as the titular character was reason enough!
The 8 part limited series tells us the story of Tom Ripley - a young enterprising man, who is making his living by forging mail and cheques, in New York and is currently under the police scanner. At this most opportune moment - He is courted by the wealthy "Greenleaf" family for a job - to travel to a remote town of "Atrani", on the Amalfi Coast to convince their son Richard (Dickie) Greenleaf to come back home!
Dickie is living the good life, spending money from his trust fund, whiling it on painting and art , with a wanna bee author girlfriend Margaret (Marge) Stephenson, living in a fancy villa. We are told that Tom Ripley is good friends with Dickie and the Greenleafs court him because no one else has turned up for this "all expenses paid bring Dickie home" trip .
Naturally Tom cant believe his luck and takes up the opportunity and reaches Atrani, where he is met with a rather cold ( i know you are my friend, but i do not seem to remember when we last met) response from Dickie and an even colder shrug by Marge. Over time, he gets Dickie to warm up to him and their friendship develops, or does it? A web of deceit which envelopes a disappearance, a murder and a scenic tour of Capri, Rome, Palermo, Naples and Venice is what follows!
An important disclaimer (spoiler free) - one needs to keep in mind before watching, otherwise this story would seem an absolute dodo! The book (The Talented Mr Ripley) was written in 1955 . The timeline depicted is in the 1960's , which means this was the era of zero tech - communication was mostly by post, telephones were a luxury, no cctv/ surveillance and everything was cash!
The series is directed by Oscar winning screenwriter Steve Zallian (Schindler's list, The Irishman, Gangs of New York, "The Night of.."). The screenplay is absolutely terrific, long sequences of minimal dialogue (smartly written and you will pick the nuances), but maximal impact - you really have to see the series (not just listen) - Every facial tick, every bit of wine that is gulped, every chuff of cigarette smoke and the ash, is foreboding!
Make no mistake, this needs your time - there are long passages in the middle third, while things happen, take an awful lot of time. It demands patience to feel the sometimes meandering, Hitchcockian tension, The arrival of Inspector Ravini (the Italian actor Mauricio Lombardi, who resembles the 60's movie villian Lee Van Cleef ), kicks the proceedings into FIAT speed. The tense and terse wordplay between Ravini and Tom is one of the highlights of the series,.
Ripley is shot in complete UHD Black and White. It is absolutely exquisite, actually a brilliant choice to complement the theme of the series. The soundtrack is very good, where it is - Sound design is top notch.
The other chief actors are strictly OK - Dickie is supposed to be a suave charmer, but the Johnny Flynn plays it sans pizzaz . Dakota Fanning, plays a rather one tone Marge. Andrew Scott does complete justice to a role of a life time . Andrew Scott, long known as the sinister Moriarty in Sherlock (yes, the one with Benedict Cumberbatch) - is sure to win many an award for this performance - absolutely hold your breath stuff. Mauricio Lombardi brings class to Inspector Ravini's character.
If you did not already know - There is a fantastic 1999 movie - The Talented Mr Ripley, which overall had a much more accomplished cast - Matt Damon as Tom, Jude Law as Dickie and Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge). You can choose to watch either, but like me if you see both, you will notice key differences in the plot and character choices, making each fairly unique and watchable on their own!.
Stay patient and enjoy this superior original Netflix series, which i suspect will make many a Top 10 list (certainly for the Andrew Scott) in 2024.
Ps:- Let me know in your comments as to which one you liked more and why!
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