It was sublime ! The thinking man’s story & done wonderfully. He’s a clumsy killer & that doesn’t change as he gets older “ ripleys Game” with Malcovitch . He’s not dull - he’s forgettable ! That’s important
Very good analysis. As with Hitchcock films, repeated viewings offer more insights and details, not always initially noted. I have always liked Alain Delon's performance of Tom Ripley in the 1960 film version, titled Purple Noon, and also Matt Damon's performance as Tom Ripley in the 1999 film, The Talented Mr Ripley, but Andrew Scott's performance is my favorite.
Im also in the camp of Ripley being a deeply emotional person. His emotions flow through art. He cries at Mina's song, he cries before Caravaggio. He in fact feels the details of the paintings so much more intensely than anyone else
What a great analysis of a great series my friend. I applaud you since you have grasped every little detail i had focused on and amazed by this seriies. Especially the song of Mina, what a taste!
You say repeatedly that Ripley is not emotional, but I disagree completely; it's not that Ripley isn't emotional. I think that he's deeply emotional, otherwise there's no impetus for his actions. Dickie's spurning of him provokes him to murder; Freddie's clear-eyed assessment of Ripley as a scammer provokes him. It's simply that Ripley is deeply controlled and inexpressive, whereas almost everyone else in the show wears their emotions on their sleeve. Part of what makes the show so impressive is that Andrew Scott's performance of Ripley is so subtly informative about his inner state. We as the audience are left simultaneously wondering about his inner landscape but also feeling privy to his secrets because we are able to observe him in private moments; we at once feel we know what he is thinking because of Scott's intelligent performance, but are left in suspense because of the decision to show, rather than tell, about Ripley's inner state. It's also inaccurate to call Freddie Miles "openly gay." Openly queer, maybe, but Freddie's gender and sexuality are not discussed in the show. Freddie is played by a nonbinary actor, and his gender isn't addressed. I think it's accurate to say that Freddie shamelessly occupies a niche due to his wealth and privilege, that Ripley is deeply envious of, and which Freddie is totally unaware of. This is Freddie's crime - his total lack of self-awareness. There are plenty of examples of historical figures whose queerness was more or less tolerated due to their wealth, and Freddie as a character simultaneously represents this privilege blindness while also representing an unerring ability to sniff out characters like Ripley whose entire selfhood is a myth. It's a much more complex story than "I'm openly gay and you're closeted;" it's about "I am free to exist as I like, while your entire existence is a lie that I see through."
Freddie has a boyfriend in the Netflix series, and they share a hotel bed. So he must be gay or at least bisexual. The actor's sexual identity is irrelevant.
@@ABC_DEF It's not at all irrelevant. The director chose to cast a nonbinary actor rather than a cis man in the role, which says something very complex about his ideas around the identity of the character. If you comprehended my comment at all I think you'd understand that I acknowledge and appreciate Freddie's queerness and the queerness of this Ripley adaptation but I think that to label any of the characters in black-and-white, unambiguous terms deeply oversimplifies the intent behind the story.
@@dorkbaitart The actor who plays Ripley is gay in real life. But it isn't relevant to the drama. Actors act, which involves pretending to be something they are not. The sexuality of the character is important, but the sexuality of the actor is not. The director chose Eliot Sumner to play Freddie. He chose that specific actor because he thought that they had the qualities he was looking for, not because the actor was non-binary.
@@ABC_DEF I am very aware that Andrew Scott is openly gay, and yes, in my opinion it is relevant, as I think it informs his understanding of the character. You can't definitively say what Steve Zaillian was or was not thinking with his casting decisions, and nor can I. I'm simply extrapolating based on the profound attention to nuance and detail that is evident throughout the series. However, if it benefits you to have a more superficial reading, then you are entitled to it. But you definitely cannot say that an actor's identity or personal experiences don't inform their interpretation of certain roles! That's just not true, and I'm not sure what you think that you - or the show - gains by arguing against the idea that what's already a brilliantly complex depiction of a character who is undeniably queer in many senses of the word, might contain more queerness and subversiveness than what is present at face value.
Did anyone notice the only color in Ripley? Nobody seems to talk about it. The cat leaves blood red footsteps on the stairs after it apparently stepped in the blood.
2 Interesting scenes imo.. 1 Ripley condemns Dicky"s charitable act for the woman in the street with the taxi denouncing it as a scam. 2 Dicky refuses to cooperate with the Naples mafia guy, showing his good standing and character in society and correctly identifies Ripley as a fellow traveler to a criminal.
Agree....except i just couldn't get past Fanning. The monotony of her voice and permanent blank expression became painful after 4 episodes in. Had to quit.
I was so excited for the show because of my love for the show and the book, but that’s also part of the reason I keep putting off watching it. I don’t want to get stuck in comparison. I also want to watch because of the few scenes filmed in my lifelong favourite city -Napoli 💙
He's gay in the novel. It crops up again and again. Highsmith says that the reason he doesn't like Freddie Miles is because he doesn't fancy him. Ripley is also gay in the 1999 film, but in the Netflix series his sexuality is left unclear.
@@ABC_DEF "Highsmith herself was ambivalent about the subject of Ripley's sexuality. "I don't think Ripley is gay,” she said in a 1988 interview with Sight & Sound. "He appreciates good looks in other men, that's true. But he's married in later books. I'm not saying he's very strong in the sex department. But he makes it in bed with his wife.""
@@ABC_DEF"Highsmith herself was ambivalent about the subject of Ripley's sexuality. "I don't think Ripley is gay,” she said in a 1988 interview with Sight & Sound. "He appreciates good looks in other men, that's true. But he's married in later books. I'm not saying he's very strong in the sex department. But he makes it in bed with his wife.""
