‘Ripley’ once more, gripping as ever

Nonika Singh

In a space where thrillers are a dime a dozen, here comes one that dazzles you with its luminosity of both visualisation and storytelling. ‘Ripley’ is no whodunit. Sure, it’s not without its share of murder(s). The very first scene where we see a man dragging a body down the stairs establishes the mood. If you have seen the earlier version based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 crime novel, ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’, starring Matt Damon, the storyline comes as no surprise. Besides, the moment the small-time con artist Tom Ripley (‘All of Us Strangers’ actor Andrew Scott) from New York arrives in Italy to persuade a rich man’s son, Richard Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), to return home, you know what his devious plans are going to be. Yet, the atmospherics remain thick with tension and the feeling of anticipation grows higher with each passing moment. The beauty of the eight-episode Netflix series lies in not who all will Ripley get rid of or whether or not he will get caught, but how his sinister story unfolds.

Yes, there is a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, especially when detective Inspector Pietro Ravini (Maurizio Lombardi) arrives on the scene. But till the first five episodes, it’s a sharp understudy of a man and his criminal mind who will go to any lengths to protect and project himself. His meticulous and Machiavellian planning, the way he switches identities, the acquired and the real… it’s clearly a mastermind at work. Scott doesn’t miss a beat in portraying this reprehensible character, clever and spiteful, misfit yet fitting in the world of luxury. Dakota Fanning of ‘Oceans 8’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ fame pulls off the role of Marge Sherwood with the right degree of scepticism and vulnerability. Johnny Flynn as Richard, aka Dickie Greenleaf, is the likeable and gullible rich man, much of whose values and susceptibility come from his position of privilege.

Maurizio Lombardi as Inspector Pietro Ravini cuts an impressive figure. And then there are masters behind the camera.

Written and directed by Steven Zaillian, what makes the series masterly is its execution, as painstaking and enthralling as the strategies of Tom. Moving at a leisured pace, like the 1960s’ period in which it is set, events don’t happen in quick succession and take their own sweet time before unravelling. Yet, there isn’t a moment that makes you look away. Rarely have you seen such an artistic presentation of a macabre play of events. Each scene is painterly and you can watch the series for its aesthetic value alone.

For a second, you may wonder why the series should be in black and white… And soon you realise that nothing else could have created the gorgeous effect which it desires and achieves. ‘It’s always about light’… as we see Tom Ripley admiring a painting by Renaissance artist Caravaggio. The same can be said about the Academy award-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit’s play with light and shadow, which is majestic in more ways than one. For those not so clued in about the world of art, the series fills in the gap. In 1600 lived a painter Caravaggio in Rome who after committing a murder was on the run. Ripley is not an artist in that sense and yet he is of guile. The man whose identity he assumes sure aspires to be a painter. And the world in which he is negotiating his presence — Italy — is brimming with so much art. One could spend a lifetime watching it. The series, too, invests much time in bringing it out for the viewer to savour. The parallel between Tom and Caravaggio is obvious.

Art is more than just what an artist has created on the canvas; it carries the imprint of the artist and the stories around him. More salacious the tales, greater the interest. As for our interest, like the cat that sits in one of the buildings where Tom lives, we are wide-eyed and attentive. Even though the cat is always out of the bag literally and otherwise, it does not kill our curiosity.