‘To begin at the beginning…’ This was a completely superb series where virtually every aspect of it was clearly part of a coherent aesthetic vision. The comments which follow were initially made during the viewing of each episode and so there may be some repetition of points although I have tried to edit to avoid this.
The spectacularly effective choice of B & W madef for a very dourly powerful visual experience where we were forced to concentrate on looks/what said/cinematography not got glory/indulgence of colour. This made some areas, particularly outside of Italy look broken and seedy (or in the case of Venice at the end, very grimly sinister – very Nic Roeg. This was a good indication of Ripley’s world and how he sees the world.
Marge’s initial dubious and ambiguous reactions to Ripley very were fine and subtle. Here, as throughout the series, the thoughtful cutting to various objects was remarkably dramatically effective. But one minor gripe; when showing a Caravaggio the music referenced in the subtitles said it was opera; clearly it was not but rather Baroque religious/church music
The first Ripley/Freddie encounter was VERY fine in all aspects – words/looks/silences Freddie’s suspicion and Tom’s worries. We shared Rip0ley’s fear, terror even, of his past being revealed as he carefully tries to establish himself throughout as someone without a past – a blank canvas.
There was a wonderful and deeply weird scene between Dickie and Tom when the latter was caught wearing his clothes. It was all very subtle, particularly re Dickie’s cryptically understated reaction – ot which was not what one would expect and hinted at hidden feelings. Ripley in this scene was giving textbook examples of is faking sincerity (his great strength). The music , always very important as it often subtly reveals the re Ripley in aftermath of this episode was particularly effective with the combination of the sinister music and the cries of birds.
In the 3rd episode the murder was very matter of fact and sudden. I loved the chilly separateness of Ripley in his interactions – he seems to have dead eyes.
For all the episodes the initial music for (pre and during titles) was wonderfully sinister and unique giving a strong sense of dread and when Ripley’s name appeared on the screen, a few seconds in, the music markedly changed.
The scene with Marge (Tom? Dickie?) explains he is leaving was BRUTAL. Both dialogue and performance were brilliant, emotionally spot-on and utterly chilling
There was superb framing always e.g. first shot on Naples. It was almost at times on a Wes Anderson level – but without his often prissy self-consciousness With many if not most episodes surprisingly little happens; and yet all are ordinary events of crucial importance and often become apparent only later e.g. the watch repair, money being taken from bank/, non-checking of Dickie’s passport when Ripley is using without changing the picture. I like too the touch of the pen always being complimented; will this be a problem later as it’s always noticed? (After having seen it all; it seems not).In Episode 5 I loved the looming constant presence of the sinister looking watchful cat throughout episode
A detail of Freddie’s arrival – the lovely irony of his compliment on how ‘Dickie’s’ painting has improved! And the focus on ashtray was an effective piece of foretelling, given how events unfolded. There was great verbal sparring with Freddie – and after murder, the tension inducing and releasing of the quiet joke about Fiat keys – all cars are Fiats in Italy, so there was a much greater chance of being caught as Ripley has to try them all to find Freddie’s vehicle.
Again one noticed the great strength of soundtrack with often a constant background of ordinary noises which could mean discovery in certain circumstances – and were a reminder of the ‘normal’ non-psychotic world that R lives in.
Ripley’s coldness was shown subtly e.g. in way he is constantly stepping over the corpse of Freddie. as cleans blood from the floor and the painting with little sighs of irritation at the mess he has made. And as he cleans blood-spattered image in apartment is of a violent scene (a Caravaggio reference) – as with the way Ripley lifts Freddie’s head and looks at him in just the way David looks at Goliath in the altar painting.
The all-seeing cat was confirmed as a major character/element in this 5th episode and it emphasizes pitch-black humour of this work with it being blamed for the blood on the stairs that Ripley missed. Details like the irritation of the police officer finding Freddie’s body and similar humorous touches on finding car and body a constant delight in this series. The popping out and disposal of bulbs in police photographer’s camera was very neat and provided a nice visual parallel to the body – both having been disposed of.
As we approach the end it was interesting that the focus was now moving to the police as events begin to unravel/be discovered. Was the appearance of Dickie to Tom sign of a conscience?
There were more superbly chosen shots occurred later in the episode with the blood on edge of the bath front and centre, as we see policeman enter the apartment in the mid-background. And the cat was prominent again as he leaves. This was a wonderfully witty and tense scene between Ravino and Tom/Dickie. Both were playing with each other and in some respects are perhaps similar; very enigmatic and hidden And again a small exquisitely chosen shot at end of scene showing (in relative close-up) Ravino stubbing out his cigarette the murder weapon.
Along with the superb visuals, already much referenced, there were many very fine verbal details, lilke the scene with Marge and Tom in café when Dickie’s boat is referenced by Marge: ‘Tom loves (present tense) that boat’. I wonder if this was the scriptwriter or Highsmith?
In the penultimate episode, I liked the technique (which I have not seen before) where when words in Italian appearing on an object like a newspaper headline or a notice on door are seen first in Italian and then, in situ, are translated into English rather than just using subtitles.
And so to the finale. I enjoyed and admired opening Caravaggio sequence, making explicit (but not too much) the parallels between him and Tom. The cinematography (again and obviously) recalled C’s lighting and chiaroscuro – and Tom’s new appearance even bore something of a resemblance to C – Was this a little bit too much though?
Margery is now shown as rather more calculating and interesting than she at first seemed – e.g. her conscious posing but ‘unaware’ of the paparazzi as PR for her book. But Tom was chillingly brilliant in the way he manipulated her to admit she had written ‘a not very nice letter’ to Dickie; gradually building up ‘case’ for suicide -and who so is, if only partially, responsible. And yet, with the final shots of the episode, it is in fact Marge who finally ‘betrays’ Tom as Ravino, on receiving the book about Atranti with a picture of Dickie, realizes that he has been duped.
The spilling of blood-covered wine on a Caravaggio picture was, perhaps, a slightly over-emphatic misjudgment (virtually the only one) as it was, to my mind, a bit too obvious. But one did see real emotion from Tom at that point of course – perhaps the point of the scene.
I enjoyed the brief shot Pegeen Guggenheim with little dog in a panning shot! And many of guests at that party seemed rather darkly sinister and so suited to Tom R’s world – all seemed louchly sinister. Minot Reeves was a fascinating character – another Ripley (which Tom seems to recognize) and I was not at all surprised at his re-appearance right near the end. I wonder if he re-appears in any other Ripley books.The ending was satisfying and we are/I was VERY ambivalent, finally, about Tom.
So a superlative series in every way.