Ripley - starts today on Netflix. Anyone fancy a discussion thread?

[Netaporter]

Based upon the book ‘The talented mr ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith Andrew Scott stars in this adaptation. It is filmed in B&W so interested to see how this differs from the glorious film starring Gwyneth, Jude and Matt Damon.

Going to start episode 1 later this morning.

I'm only a couple of episodes in. Love Young Johnny Flynn.
And Scott is amazing in everything. He's an awesome baddie.
It feels a bit slow though if that isn't a bit low brow of me.

Binged 5 episodes today. Love the black and white with its depth. But why, oh why, did they make Freddie a butch woman?? Freddie was an overweight boozy, smoking sexist bloke.

I watched the series and ended up loving it. I liked the slow paced way that it showed the awkwardness of trying to get rid of a body.

I've now watched the film, the film is great too but quite different. The film feels rushed after watching the series. The film feels a bit more sympathetic towards Ripley.

How hilarious! Reeves Minot being played by John Malcovich who played Tom in Ripley's Game. And a suggestion of how Reeves and Tom met which, in the books, no-one can remember

Going against opinion somewhat here but I absolutely loved it. The black and white noirish vibe was perfect. I loved the understatement of it all, the minute changes in facial expressions of the characters, the drama of the cinematography. Andrew Scott was superb as a man who is a cipher yet a threat. Dakota Fanning did a beautiful job of being confused at his influence but also subtly testing his boundaries for weakness and I even enjoyed Eliot Sumner’s Freddie Miles. Their sense of privilege and distrust of an interloper not of their class was bang on.

oh i didnt recognise him, that is excellent.

the black and white was amazing. every frame so artistic.

it was slow but i got used to it and enjoyed it very much. fabulous.

2 episodes in. Enjoying it.

Finished it. Was really sad because no subtitles and the last 2 episodes had loads of Italian, the 4 police officers particularly and I was cross I couldn't understand what was going on.

Sting and Trudies trans child female as Freddie? Oh purlease.

The best casting was the cat!

And Inspector Ravini goes to speak to Tom Ripley in a wig in Venice, but the Inspector doesn't clock that this is the same man, physically, who he interviewed as Dickie?

I too like @echt couldn't grasp why all the cobbles were wet, throughout. In fact the whole production must have been filmed in the pissing rain, constantly.

I agree about the cat.
Inspector Ravini being fooled by a syrup is ridiculous, it was a different copper who goes to Venice in the book. But a lot of what happens in the books is far fetched, Tom gets away with ridiculous murders far too easily. But I love the books

Are you all watching it with subtitles? We switched subtitles on but it wouldn't work. How are you understanding all the Italian police officers? I missed most of the last 2 episodes. Was cross.

The sub titles worked perfectly at my end. How odd.

We watched with subtitles and they worked perfectly in every episode (I watch everything with subtitles on).

I agree about the cat, he was magnificent.

I posted up thread about the cat. He’s a Maine Coon and was the third one to be cast. You can Google him….

Right. Sorry. Dh and I are going to try again, try again to get the subtitles to work, and then watch the whole thing again.

Ripley changes the light bulbs, makes the room darker

Ah yes, that explains it. I forgot Tom made the room darker. Doh!

I felt like they were working as hard as they could to make it plausible but it still wasn’t plausible.

I finally caught up (I couldn’t afford to renew my membership last month). Oh dear…whilst I grew to love the black and white, so many other elements were just poor. There was no light and shade in Andrew Scott’s performance and is Johnny Flynn always this bland? I’ve never seen him in anything before. The Dickie murder scene should have been horrifying and upsetting - instead I felt ‘meh’, because I didn’t believe in their relationship. Worst of all is the odd lack of tension throughout, although a close second was the shit casting decision for Freddie.

I'm still on the second episode.

I have wondered a couple of times 'style over content?'.

So aesthetically perfect that the drive of the plot feels muted.

Johnny Flynn is too far from the camera somehow. It gives him a mystique but, I hate to mention the (whispers) film..... but you see Jude Law give Dickie such force and danger to Ripley. Dickie feels omnipotent and that's his weakness which Ripley sees.

But I'm only a few episodes in 😆

Halfway through, and loving the cinematography but wtf is with casting of Freddie? That person looks like a 12 year old girl in a bad wig, and can't act. Agree they are all too old and a bit dreary, and it can't compare with the Matt Damon film, which was perfect.

You know what? I've been listening to the audiobook again and I think it WAS the same copper who met Tom in Venice and didn't realise it was the same person he met as Dickie. Thanks to some glasses he got in a toy shop and dim lighting

I've blocked that bit from my mind - too silly. The show has been so good up until then.