Netflix subscribers can discover the streaming platform’s new series this week. Is the adaptation of “Talented Mr. Ripley” with Andrew Scott worth a watch?
The month of April begins on Netflix with the release of a definitely intriguing new series. With 8 episodes exclusively in black and white, Ripley will certainly arouse the curiosity of subscribers. This mini-series available since Thursday April 4 is the adaptation of the novel Mister Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, who has already given two films: one sees Alain Delon in the main role (Full Sun), the other brings together Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett and Jude Law (The talented Mr. Ripley).
Here, Netflix develops the story at length with Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Fleabag) in the title role, opposite Dakota Fanning (Twilight, War of the Worlds) and Johnny Flynn (Lovesick, Emma). Ripley tells the story of Tom Ripley, a crook hired by a rich patriarch to convince his son, exiled in Italy, to return to New York to his family in the 1960s. This European trip will then take a macabre turning point for our hero full of ambiguity.
Should we see Ripley on Netflix?
But are these 8 episodes worth a watch? Certainly, if we are to believe the press reviews. For Allocinatedit is neither more nor less “one of the most beautiful Netflix series in years”, the result of which is “bluffing”: “It is an anthology of images to die for that is offered before our eyes”, judges the media specializing in cinema news, which does not fail to praise the interpretations of the protagonists, Andrew Scott in the lead, “as hypnotic and elegant as they are disturbing”.
An opinion shared by The Parisian, who considers the series “full of talent” with Andrew Scott “impressively ambiguous”, while Le Devoir judges it “typically fabulous”, also noting the work of Dakota Fanning. “Against a backdrop of dangerous fool’s games, Ripley is a treat for the brain and the eyes.”, estimates the Quebec daily.
Unfortunately, these two media also agree to note the major flaw of the series: the extremely slow pace, which could discourage the public. For Le Parisien, “the level of interpretation […] saves the whole from deep boredom”, nothing less, when Allociné, less categorical, judges that “the series would have benefited from being tighter”. The curious should however find what they are looking for, and the series certainly seems to be worth the detour! The 8 episodes, each about an hour long, are all available now on Netflix.