So, the most current adaption of the 1950s book The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley, has recently premiered on Netflix. You may be familiar with the Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow film from the ’90s that is currently streaming on Netflix.
However, we have never before had so much screen time in this world as in this eight-part series. Having conflicting sentiments about the show before watching it with Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, I will explain my thoughts in detail in my blog. Therefore, without further ado, let us dive into dissecting Ripley and all its lessons.
Spoiler Alert!
Ripley: The Meaning Of The Statues And The Paintings
The Meaning Of The Statues And The Paintings that would often be cut to during scenes of movement were a key feature of this series that received ample screen time regardless of the locale.
The same holds true for non-human creatures, like the cat in the hallway. I think it was after a few episodes that I finally understood what the show was trying to convey; before that, I spent a lot of time perplexed by the show’s seeming obsession with them.
Although Tom Ripley was deceiving everyone around him—or at least attempting to—the artwork and statues made it seem like someone was always watching. It could have been in the middle of Rome while he attempted to dispose of Freddy’s corpse, in the corridor with the cat, or even in deserted lanes.
He was never truly alone, even when he believed so. Not only is it symbolic, but the artworks and monuments also feature face expressions that relate to the crimes he did. I also got the impression that that was related to a lot of the choices made regarding the pictures that were utilized. Examples of such images include those in which the camera is positioned low to the ground or tucked behind a corner, creating the impression that someone is watching him.
And I felt like it was a metaphor for how we felt as we watched him go past, like the statues or the paintings with the flaming eyes. Convincing everyone that he was Richard Greenleaf and leading the lie. Aside from adding a chilling dimension to the murders he was committing, I thought it was a brilliant creative decision that tied in with the show’s setting, the central artwork, and the characters.
Plus, there were eyes everywhere, dispelling his illusion that he could get away with it.
Ripley : The Reveal During The Ending
In episode 3, we saw that Ripley had murdered both the real Richard Greenleaf and Freddy Myles. As the series came to a close, we seen him continue to live under the identity of Richard Greenleaf while the police pursued him over the recovered boat and assumed he was Freddy’s killer.
It was considerably easier for him to assume the identity of the person Richard Greenleaf was believed to have murdered in the last episode, so he reverted to playing Tom Ripley. In retrospect, I can’t help but wonder how the inspector could have failed to see Ripley for who he really was—a man with a beard and a wig—when they first crossed paths.
For reasons related to creativity, though, I ignored it. After Tom returned to his true personality, Marge paid him a visit. It was there that she discovered Richard’s ring inside Tom’s box, while searching for thread and a needle. Like he was about to murder her like he did Freddy, Tom seems determined to take her life.
Tom set down the ashtray and allowed her live when she said she believed Dickie gave the ring to him as a suicide note and that she suspected he was Freddy’s killer. I think Tom’s decision to live as Richard Greenleaf was an act, and I think he had to put up with Marge because he hated her.
While she dangled over the canal, he was clearly thinking about murdering her. In the meeting that followed the ring’s discovery, Tom revealed his plan to Richard’s father and the private investigator from the pilot episode. Knowing that the police would approach the hotel clerk, he purposefully seemed disheveled as he departed from the establishment.
In addition, there’s the letter he addressed to his apartment’s landlady while posing as Richard Greenleaf; in it, he basically expressed his inability to live with his actions and his uncertainty about his future. He even went so far as to write that she might dispose of his paintings as they were useless.
Someone was making fun of Richard’s dad with this. The purpose of this was to make him feel guilty about the fact that his father had never trusted him. Based on the letter, the PI concluded that Richard had to have had a bad experience on the ferry leaving Italy and probably took his own life, perhaps by jumping from the ship’s edge.
Prior to this, though, there was a lot of public conjecture regarding Richard’s whereabouts, which I found amusing. Indeed, what transpired was exactly what one of the partygoers had speculated—that the individual responsible for forging his signature had murdered him.
That was the pinnacle of theatrical irony, then. Throughout the episode, it was clear that Tom would never wear Richard’s ring under any circumstances other than while he was acting as Richard Greenleaf. But when Richard’s dad gave it to Tom at the very end, he put it on and continued on with his life. Tom Ripley is a multi-faceted sociopath; I’ve never encountered a character like him before—appearing normally on the outside while harboring such a wild and crazy inner life and acting out their sociopathic fantasies in the real world.
I wouldn’t go so far as to call Tom and Dickie friends; Tom simply wanted his life and the life he knew he couldn’t have without taking matters into his own hands. Dickie didn’t care for Tom, and Tom didn’t want to be Dickie either. Reeves introduced himself to Tom as an art dealer right before the show ended, and Tom believed him.
Having said that, Reeves was essentially filling in for Ripley before the latter moved to Italy. He might forge identification for others by obtaining forgeries. Under the guise of Timothy Fanshaw, Ripley had a new identity created for himself and intended to live his life accordingly. The Picasso that Greenleaf had in his home arrived in a package at Ripley’s, and as soon as I laid eyes on it hanging on the wall, I grasped its significance.
It stood for the intricacy of Tom Ripley’s thinking. The various aspects of the painting—its corners, edges, and sections—represented his evolving intentions, which included a wide range of identities, behaviors, and motivations. Inspector Ravini had a moment of realization at the end of the show when Marge gave him a book that she had spent the entire series writing. In it, he saw a photo of the real Richard Greenleaf, and he realized he had been fooled and that he had never actually spoken to the real Dickie.
Tom Ripley—or, more accurately, Timothy Fanshaw, if he can be located—is likely to be sought after by an inspector with his level of dedication to solving crimes.
What is the importance of Caravaggio in Ripley?
The Significance of Caravaggio Caravaggio painted the scene of a murder in the early 1600s in the first episode, which served as the show’s opening.
The exhibition featured a lot of his artwork, which Ripley had a strong emotional connection to because he could practically hear the people portrayed in the pieces. The authorities in Rome wrongly suspected the renowned painter Caravaggio of murder, so he fled the scene of the crime.
Both the opening and closing shots cut to the Roman painter and Ripley, who are both killers, sitting in a chair and appreciating art while drinking wine. It demonstrated how their experiences were similar, how their tales were similar, and how their thoughts were similar.
My Review about the Netflix’s show Ripley
In my opinion, this show was excellent. In my opinion, it did a great job of expanding upon the picture. Without having read the book, I can only assume that this episode went into far more into on Ripley’s thoughts than the film did. It was shot so nicely, in my opinion.
It has to be one of the most visually stunning Netflix shows I’ve seen recently. The planning that went into the structures, settings, camera angles, artwork, and everything else. Visually, it was breathtaking. absolutely no hue. In my opinion, this show would have been far better suited to a weekly format.
The episodes were almost always left on a cliffhanger, which made you eager for the next one. However, I believe that the anticipation for more would have been even higher if we had been kept waiting. It’s a shame that the whole series was released at once because the story is heavy and full of unexpected twists and turns.
Every member of the cast was superb in their parts, in my opinion. Andrew Scott’s portrayal of Ripley was spot on. Was Matt Damon’s Ripley better than his? Hmm, I’ll have to give that some thought. There were many similarities and also many differences amongst them. The quiet and icy performance by Andrew Scott was spot on for the part.
In contrast, Damon’s was slightly more endearing. Thus, they were both excellent in their own ways. However, Inspector Ravini stood out to me as a memorable figure in this. The performance was superb, in my opinion. His determination to solve the case and his dissatisfaction with the other police forces were palpable. It was truly shocking to witness his final revelation—a photo of the real Richard Greenleaf—in the book. He may not have known what to do next, but his anger was palpable.
Additionally, I thought the show’s usage of subtitles was really effective. For instance, the subtitles were in Italian when Tom Ripley initially visited Italy without knowing the language. Subtitles would change to English whenever Italian was spoken, but as he acquired the language, that stopped happening.
We were practically able to study the language alongside him, putting ourselves in his shoes and understanding his state of mind as he arrived for the first time. Some parts of the show were really gory as well, like the boat scene and Freddy’s death. I felt like I could really feel everything happening as Freddy was dragged down the stairs, his head beating the whole time.
At every stage. On top of that, I felt the entire boat scene was superbly done. It was terrifying when Tom got off the boat and had to climb back aboard, and for a long time nobody said a word. Being there with him was all it meant. We were even more engrossed because of this brilliant choice.
In my opinion, this is a program that viewers should not miss. It’s stylishly pleasing to the eye, has some fantastic performances, is inventive, captivating, and cool. It’s an 8-hour commitment, but the payoff is well worth it. The Ripley ending has been explained.
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