Netflix's 'Ripley' Really Takes Its Time And That's Why It's So Damn Good

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Netflix's Ripley

The Big Picture

• Ripley offers a straightforward adaptation of Highsmith's work, delving deeper into character backgrounds.
• The slow pacing builds tension as we examine Tom Ripley's anxiety post-crime.
• Shot in black and white, Ripley commits to its noir influences, with a focus on gradually revealing the character's development.

Patricia Highsmith’s series of novels about the character of Tom Ripley are among the highest selling in literary history, and have had a significant influence on the sub-genre of con artist stories. Given their immense popularity, it's not surprising that the books have been adapted to the screen several times; while René Clément’s 1960 noir Purple Noon was the first adaptation, Anthony Minghella’s star-studded 1999 adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, with Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow, earned several Academy Award nominations. The pressure was on for showrunner Steven Zaillian to ensure that his version of Ripley did something different. While it doesn’t change much of the narrative, Netflix’s Ripley stands out compared to other adaptations due to its incredibly slow pacing.

Ripley

A grifter named Ripley living in New York during the 1960s is hired by a wealthy man to begin a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.

Netflix's ‘Ripley’ Fleshes Out Its Characters With Great Detail

Ripley serves as a straightforward adaptation of the first installment in Highsmith’s series. While the characters’ ages are advanced by nearly two decades, the series does not make any notable changes to the story compared to previous adaptations. Andrew Scott’s Tom Ripley is hired by Herbert Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan) to travel to Italy to convince his pretentious son Dickie (Johnny Flynn) to return home. Although it’s evident from the beginning that the enigmatic con man has malicious intentions, Ripley spends more time fleshing out the titular character's life prior to his mission. This allows the viewer to understand the strange way that Ripley perceives the world. Additionally, the excellent sound design helps make this an even more immersive experience.

Yes, both Purple Noon and The Talented Mr. Ripley were quick to show the devolution of the main characters’ relationship, but Ripley crafts a more complex depiction of Ripley’s dynamic with Dickie. Initially, Dickie is put off by Ripley’s aggressive behavior, yet slowly becomes charmed by his inventive spirit. Jude Law’s depiction of Dickie was one of an ecstatic young man bursting with exuberance, but Flynn’s interpretation is that of a cynical, belligerent expatriate. Flynn has certainly shown his charming side in films like Emma, but Ripley gives him the chance to play an unlikable, privileged brat who has delusions about his own artistry. This makes the central tragedy more complicated, as Dickie is a character whose prospects for the future are entirely superficial.

Additionally, Ripley spends more time examining the unique dilemma that Dakota Fanning’s Marge Sherwood is in, as she has to bear witness to Ripley’s infiltration of Dickie’s life. Even though the series suggests that their relationship is not an entirely pleasant one, Marge nonetheless feels protective of Dickie, and fears that Ripley may have a corrupting influence on their lives. Marge’s ignorance of Ripley’s malicious intentions makes her a rather uninteresting character in The Talented Mr. Ripley, despite a strong performance by Gwyneth Paltrow. However, the extra runtime in Ripley allows Fanning to give a more confident and capable interpretation of Highsmith’s original character.

‘Ripley’ Uses Its Slow Pacing To Create Tension

While the eight episode length means that the action is spread more thinly, Ripley certainly does not pad its run time with superfluous content. Ripley creates a moody atmosphere and level of paranoia that makes the moments of violence hit with more impact. After watching Ripley slowly twist himself into a web of lies throughout the first two episodes, his murder of Dickie in the standout third episode, “III Sommerso," is riveting to watch. Zaillian takes the time to show the specifics of how Ripley plots the murder; he must ensure that there are no observers, hide the evidence of the boat, and survive nearly falling overboard. By getting into the minutia of his problem solving, Ripley allows Scott to delve into the character’s abilities.

'Ripley' Filming Locations: Where Was the Andrew Scott Series Shot?

Where exactly were those Italian backdrops?

Dickie’s murder is certainly the most memorable incident in the series, but Ripley does a great job at examining the character’s anxiety and paranoia in the aftermath of his crimes. Between feeding fake stories to Marge about Dickie’s location, avoiding the attention of Freddie Miles (Elliot Sumner), and escaping from the investigations by Inspector Pietro Ravini (Maurizio Lombardi), Ripley is constantly forced to change and reinvent the carefully constructed lie that he created. The extended running time shows that he has to live with this sad reality for the rest of his life; it provides the perfect groundwork for continuation should Zaillian ever decide to adapt Highsmith’s other books for a Ripley Season 2.

‘Ripley’ Commits to Its Noir Influences

One of the most notable differences between Ripley and prior adaptations of the material is that Zaillian’s series is shot entirely in black and white by legendary cinematographer Robert Elswit. While it’s an aesthetic choice that succeeds in capturing the look and feel of the 1960s, Ripley bears much in common with classical films in the noir genre. Most noir films focus primarily on the gradual dissemination of information, using their protagonists' wit and attention to detail as a means of advancing the story. This is something that Ripley uses to its advantage; the series takes the time to show Scott’s version of the character gradually learning how to adopt his new persona.

The added material may have been a burden had the performances been lacking, but thankfully, Scott’s interpretation of Ripley marks another instance of him reinventing an iconic character. Ripley’s methodical pacing gives the series the chance to focus on Scott’s internalized performance, as Ripley is not a character that is defined only by his most egregious actions. By slowly revealing how Ripley’s daily routine and mannerisms change based on his environment, Ripley somehow makes the character more enigmatic.

While many great miniseries simply feel like long movies, Ripley takes advantage of the episodic format. Each episode presents the character with a unique goal that he must accomplish, and exploring his larger arc through micro situations such as heaving rocks into a boat in order to sink it and cleaning up a bloody kill, serves as an inventive way to approach the material. Ripley may be slow, but it's so entertaining that it leaves viewers begging for more by the time that it concludes.

Ripley is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.

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