Plein soleil

Rene Clement's "Plein soleil" offers a young Alain Delon as Tom Ripley, a character known to more recent audiences as the hero of the Anthony Mingella 1999 "The Talented Mr. Ripley." It is nice to note that both films hold their own well, with the Mingella providing more character and background information than the Clement version.

Delon, who was to become a favorite actor of Visconti and other fine French and Italian directors, renders a skillful performance, along with Maurice Ronet as Phillipe Greenleaf (known as "Dickie" in the later Mingella opus).

Clement keeps the camera focused on the handsome M. Delon (as did Visconti) with stark closeups to show detailed emotional reactions. Delon manages to rise to the challenge in subtle ways, and to project a fully realized character. While Clement fails to provide much background as to why this character acts the way he does, Delon's photogenic countenance somewhat overcomes this void by masking it with personality and charm.

We can be thankful to Martin Scorcese for the fine reprint of this memorable French thriller, known in the UK and USA as "Purple Noon."

Purple Noon wasn't the first film Alain Delon starred in, but it was the one that made him a star. Purple Noon is an autopsy of a near-perfect crime, and a compelling look at the man who commits it. One of Purple Noon's most obvious assets is Delon's acting. Tom is fascinating because Delon makes him so. This isn't a run-of-the-mill villain; he's a complex character with a well thought-out reason for everything he does. In addition to Delon's fine performance, Purple Noon is characterized by expert camerawork and crisp direction. Clement understands how to sustain tension without drawing it out too far. The film is exactly the right length, as are each of the individual scenes. There's nothing so engrossing as watching a truly intelligent thriller, and that makes this film a rare treat. If you enjoy atmospheric high intelligence content and aren't put off by subtitles, then you can't spend a better hour and a half than watching this movie.

I found this film more interesting than the recent Minghella opus because the people were more disturbing.

Alain Delon is too good-looking to be dismissed as the geeky wannabee Matt Damon plays. His insanity in a pretty package is as unsettling as Gene Tierney's in "Leave Her to Heaven." Delon looks like Maurice Ronet's brother, and you can see him wonder why if he's just as handsome as the other guy, why doesn't he have as much money? Ronet is more unpredictable than Jude Law as the whimsical rich boy and his death is every bit as shocking.

I can't imagine that Anthony Minghella hadn't seen this version before making his own. He probably regrets Scorsese's reconstruction of Rene Clement's film so we can all make the comparison. Some scenes play like a shot-for-shot remake. Billy Kearns's brutal Freddy Miles is an obvious template for Philip Seymour Hoffman's more calculated and less powerful performance, and Gwyneth Paltrow's final breakdown is VERY close to that of Marie Laforet's.

All through the 1999 film, I kept wondering why everybody couldn't see what was wrong with the toad-like Damon. In this one, Delon's plausible, even glamorous exterior made the success of his deceptions more understandable, and more frightening.

I saw Minghella's "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and Clement's "Purple Noon" back to back. Two entirely different movies based on exactly the same book. The differences are personal of course. Minghella has a moralistic view of his characters and their darkness must be, somehow, explained if not justified. Clement's allows the amorality of his characters to run loose. Minghella casts Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, a rather invisible actor in every way and although he's pretty good here, he's not good enough to overshadow his rival: Jude Law. Clement casts Alain Delon as Ripley and you will be with him all the way, you'll go where he goes you will turn out to be as amoral as he is - at least I did, I just wanted him to get away with it and why? Because he was Alain Delon, the Tom Ripley that, clearly, Patricia Highsmith intended. His rival is Maurice Ronet, good as he is, I didn't miss him when he left. You know why? Because I was left with the dangerous, magnetic, amoral, riveting Alain Delon. Clement allows us to see the difficulty and danger of the murders, we see them, we are there. Minghella plays it rather hurriedly. There is no real tension or horror. The most suspenseful moment is at an Opera house. The pluses on "The Talented Mr Ripley" - besides the aforementioned Jude Law - are Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett in two beautifully written and performed parts. In "Purple Noon" Marie Laforet is left rather to her own devices. Once all said and done you can watch both films as if they weren't even related. I prefer "Purple Noon" but that's just me.

Tom Ripley is the poor friend of the wealthy and arrogant Philippe Greenleaf who spends his time sailing on the Mediterranean sea's coasts of Italy in his magnificent vessel. Philippe enjoys himself by humiliating Tom whenever he can and making him feel the power that money brings. Tom envies his friend's easy life and also his pretty girlfriend Marge Duval who sails along with them and finally he kills Philippe and takes his place as a rich man by achieving the sinister and carefully plan he has developed with such purpose. Things get complicated for the killer from then on but he manages to go on with his profitable impersonation and sentimental approach to the dead man's girlfriend.

The film is skilfully handled by director René Clement and interest doesn't fall till the end, the colorful and beautiful Italian coast on the Mediterranean sea brings a great background to the story and the final sequence when Tom's perfect plan is spoiled is excellent and memorable.

Alain Delon renders one of his best performances ever as the resentful and no scruples Tom, well supported by Maurice Ronnet as Philippe and Marie Laforet as Marge. These are the characters the whole plot is about and the rest of the cast is there just for need.

Most entertaining and made with intelligence, this is thriller to see. An 8 out of 10 to me.