My first cinematic exposure to Ripley was Wim Wenders' masterful 1977 extrapolation of the "Ripley's Game" novel entitled "The American Friend." He created a visually stunning ans psychologically multi-layered meditation on Art, friendship, and personal ethics. I find it the most extraordinary and satisfying of the four Ripley films I've seen. Dennis Hopper portrays Ripley as a psychological loose cannon, emotionally stunted and befuddled by personal crisis. But where Highsmith detailed the inner schematic of her protagonist's pathology, Hopper doesn't let us inside his head. His performance is all neurotic surface, and we're left to imagine what dark possibilities lie within. We're never sure what he is capable of or what he might do next, and this quirky menace is all the more terrifying when he purposely insinuates himself into the life of a gentle, benign family man beautifully portrayed by Bruno Ganz. While Hopper might not be central casting's choice as Tom, he is famous for a sort of edgy uncertainty which is clearly present in the literary Ripley's personality, and he's never less than fascinating in the role.
Malkovich certainly portrays a more suave and sinister soul in "Ripley's Game." No one conveys a sense of icy malevolence better, and for that reason alone, he should indeed be the perfect Tom Ripley. But somehow, for me, he doesn't quite bring it off. Behind all the intricate machinations of the psycopathic mind, there should be, at its very core, a deficiency -- a blank and utter void where moral scruples would normally reside. Malkovich seems so thoroughly and relentlessly intelligent that I can't imagine any speck of him being beyond calculation. We get sang-froid instead of soulless compulsion. Mighella draws a very accurate home environment for Ripley, I think, but strangely inflates the affluence of Jonathan, a down-on-his-luck picture framer, and the lush Italian piedmont seems too soft a setting for this harsh a story. Far more effective are the severe and tarnished urban surfaces of Wenders' Hamburg.
Although it's been many years since I've seen "Purple Noon," I remember Alain Delon as a pretty (almost TOO Pretty) convincing Ripley, but I would prefer someone a bit less dashing and more nondescript. Delon has decent acting chops, and he did particularly well in the culminating police chase which this version emphasized. However, he gets caught in the end, which is so contrary to the mythos of Highsmith's writing.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" proved a very awkward bundle for me. Great attention was paid to the mis-en-scene -- full-blown Hollywood scene design and meticulous set decoration -- and, excepting the leading role, casting was very effective. Matt Damon is just too much of a pup actor to fill out this role. The character he created was competent enough, but it just wasn't Tom Ripley -- even a young and callow Tom Ripley. If Jude Law weren't so good as Dickie Greenleaf, I might have liked seeing him take on our troubled anti-hero; he's got just the right mix of sophistocation and steely stare. Gwynneth Paltrow did a smart and pert little turn as well. And then, Philip Seymour Hoffmann effectively stole the whole film. Among this crew, I just kept forgetting to look at Damon.
"Der Amerikanische Freund" -- Hopper -- 10
"Ripley's Game" -- Malkovich -- 8
"Purple Noon" -- Delon -- 7
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" -- Damon -- 5
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