RIPLEY

Be warned, once you start, this series will keep you hooked.

Ripley is depicted very differently to the charming person from the film.

Awkward. Calculating. Desperate.

That's how I'd sum him up.

And this is not only filmed beautifully in crisp 4K with visual finesse and a Hitchcock feel.

It has just the right attention to sound design with a beautiful composition.

The character reactions, where more is said with less words kept me intrigued.

It is a mini series but you'll feel like you're watching one great movie after the next as you go from episode to episode.

And one I'd be happy to watch more than once.

This masterpiece of a series is completely unique from the movie, and really elicits its own distinctive film noir vibe both in cinematography and dialogue. Purposeful yet subtle performances by all involved; Andrew Scott is absolutely perfect for this role.

I haven't seen a TV series interpreted from a film source this well since Hannibal, where Mads Mikkelsen was also perfectly cast and gave an unforgettable performance.

What else can be said about this series? A bit of a slow burn, but the pacing is completely suitable, and allows for a bit more fleshing out and development of the characters. Although I love the vibrant colors along the coast of Italy as much as anyone, I feel the choice to use a monochromatic palette here really enhanced the mood and atmosphere of the story.

Top notch production in all aspects!

The 1999 "Talented Mr Ripley" with Matt Damon and Jude Law is one of my favorites to re-watch. However, being a movie and required to fit the time allowed, we don't learn much about Tom Ripley's back story, his normal life, nor of the many side stories in Europe. We know that, when he is mistaken for a Princeton guy, he doesn't correct the record. We learn early that deception is his friend.

In this 8-part series called just "Ripley" we see more clearly that this Tom is a bit older and how he lives the life of a grifter in New York. For example, he encounters the mail carrier and pretends to be going into the Dr Office, is handed the mail, he finds checks that he can cash. Or he pretends to be a bill collector and has a new check sent to his "agency." Using a variety of fictional identities, if a bank gets suspicious he just walks away and destroys that identity. He is slick and unperturbed, a man on his mission.

So the entire series has the same core story, with the same core characters and their relationships, but it treats Tom in a distinctly different light. It starts when Mr Greenleaf hires a P. I. to find Ripley, we are not sure why he knows about him, but that is how Tom gets the paid assignment to go to Italy and find Dickie.

There are a number of other differences but Tom is forever the grifter and when he realizes what Dicky has he wants it too. He wants that life, and the first episode ends with him practicing in the mirror, introducing himself as Dicky Greenleaf, foreshadowing what the rest of the series will be about.

The show is shot in B&W, which I see some complain about. But I love it, to give it that 'film noir' look and feel. With much more running time to play with it goes a bit deeper in some familiar scenes and also adds some that were not included in the movie. And finally, the last scenes and the ending are heading into a completely different direction.

In my mind there is no value trying to compare this 6 1/2 hour miniseries to the 1999 movie, they are quite different takes on the same core story. I like what they did here, I like the more deliberate pace, I like the B&W approach, to me it helps it feel like 1960s Italy.

Dark but good series, entertaining.

In my mind, Alain Delon in Rene Clement's 1960 "Purple Noon" was the definitive Tom Ripley. Beautiful and totally amoral. Anthony Minghella's 1999 "The Talented Mr Ripley" had a bland but thoughtful Tom Ripley who felt and suffered. Minghella had a superb script, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cate Blanchett playing riveting, unforgettable characters. There was also John Malcovich in a Liliana Cavani version, and although I've seen it, I don''t remember it, isn't that terrible? And the Wim Wenders version with Dennis Hopper doesn't count, good film, but it doesn't count as a version of Patricia Highsmith's novel. Now this. Ripley, the series. Hours long, in black and white. My first reaction was to rejected it but the truth is that I finish seeing it over a week ago and stayed with me, I can't shake it off. Why I wonder. And the reason is very simple. Steven Zaillian's version is truly wonderful. He has de-glamorized it. The whole thing. The story, the characters. Oh the characters. I was so used to see beautiful people playing them, in gloriously glamorous locations. This version is stark and Andrew Scott is like a replicant. No emotions, not even a hint of them. Invisible. As a consequence we do all the work. We gasp or look away. He just goes on. I know I'm going to see Ripley again, maybe not tomorrow but soon. I suspect you will too.

Black and white never looked so beautiful. I doubt even early 1960s Italy was this beautiful. This was the most visually stunning project I have seen in decades.

The performances were excellent as well as the direction. The writing was a bit drawn out. This really could have been two hours shorter, but you really don't mind it.

If Netflix could come up with something half this good on a semi monthly basis they'd be in the black again. This wasn't just visually appealing it was actually mature and reasonably cerebral. Miles above their usual offerings.

Warning: If you watch this, you will become addicted.