Patricia Highsmith's fascinatingly amoral creation Tom Ripley who featured in five novels, has been portrayed on screen by such varied performers as Dennis Hopper, Matt Damon. John Malkovich, Barry Pepper and Andrew Scott. The character was introduced in 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' and in this adaptation for director René Clément he is personified by Alain Delon. Not only did this film put Delon on the map it established and defined his screen persona for the rest of his career. His mystique and ambiguity were to serve him extremely well, notably in the iconic 'Le Samourai' and in what is arguably his best performance as 'Monsieur Klein'.
Director Joseph Losey said of him that beneath the cool, handsome exterior lay a deeply complex and driven man which makes him ideal casting as this adaptation by Clément and Paul Gégauff contrasts the beautiful with the sinister, the bright light on the surface with the darkness beneath.
The light is provided by the Italian coastline captured in ravishing Eastmancolor by one of the world's greatest cinematographers Henri Decae whilst the variations on Nino Rota's rather jaunty theme perfectly complement this tale of deception, stolen identity and cold-blooded murder.
Clément is not afraid to take his time here in establishing the characters and depicting what appears to be a carefree male friendship with perhaps a touch of the homoerotic which makes what occurs on the boat thirty-five minutes in so dramatically effective. Everything seems more clearcut at sea as Polanski was to show two years later in 'Knife in the Water'.
The role of Greenleaf also furthered the career of Maurice Ronet who was to appear with Delon on a few occasions, notably in 'La Piscine'. The character of Marge is essentially a cipher and Marie Laforet does her best whilst Erno Crisi is extremely effective as a police inspector and in her late sixties Elvire Popescu retains her ebullience. Easy to spot an uncredited Romy Schneider who was Delon's great love at the time.
Controversially, throughout the five novels Ripley evaded both capture and prosecution but here the makers have chosen to insert an Hitchcock-style ending of which the author unsurprisingly disapproved, citing it as 'a cowardly concession to public morality'. She was probably right of course but in a purely filmic sense, it works.
A thoroughly absorbing piece which has been described by one critic as 'the last ray of warmth in René Clément's illustrious career'.
Director Joseph Losey said of him that beneath the cool, handsome exterior lay a deeply complex and driven man which makes him ideal casting as this adaptation by Clément and Paul Gégauff contrasts the beautiful with the sinister, the bright light on the surface with the darkness beneath.
The light is provided by the Italian coastline captured in ravishing Eastmancolor by one of the world's greatest cinematographers Henri Decae whilst the variations on Nino Rota's rather jaunty theme perfectly complement this tale of deception, stolen identity and cold-blooded murder.
Clément is not afraid to take his time here in establishing the characters and depicting what appears to be a carefree male friendship with perhaps a touch of the homoerotic which makes what occurs on the boat thirty-five minutes in so dramatically effective. Everything seems more clearcut at sea as Polanski was to show two years later in 'Knife in the Water'.
The role of Greenleaf also furthered the career of Maurice Ronet who was to appear with Delon on a few occasions, notably in 'La Piscine'. The character of Marge is essentially a cipher and Marie Laforet does her best whilst Erno Crisi is extremely effective as a police inspector and in her late sixties Elvire Popescu retains her ebullience. Easy to spot an uncredited Romy Schneider who was Delon's great love at the time.
Controversially, throughout the five novels Ripley evaded both capture and prosecution but here the makers have chosen to insert an Hitchcock-style ending of which the author unsurprisingly disapproved, citing it as 'a cowardly concession to public morality'. She was probably right of course but in a purely filmic sense, it works.
A thoroughly absorbing piece which has been described by one critic as 'the last ray of warmth in René Clément's illustrious career'.