I never liked TomRipleybut I keep meeting him.
Ive met Ripley in five films, and hes now the protagonist of a somber eight-part Netflix series.
So filmmakers clearly find his character intriguing.
Andrew Scott in Netflix’s ‘Ripley’Netflix
Even though he has no character.
Yet movies with vibrant young protagonists seem to be losing their moment.
Hence Bogart got hisCasablanca, Bette Davis herAll About Eve, and Marlon Brando hisOn the Waterfront.
Matt Damon in 1999’s ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’
The screens were also littered with abundant shlock along the way.
Somewhere along the way, however, these surprising characters seemed to get lost.
The big roles created for Joaquin Phoenix inNapoleonor Adam Driver inFerrarididnt produce either strong reviews or buoyant box office.
The empathy and motivation of the protagonists seemed overwhelmed by scale.
By contrast, the frailties of Tom Ripley in his various manifestations confound ticket buyers for different reasons.
Hes a con man almost well-connected, almost charming, almost dangerous and almost proficient.
Admirers ofRipleypoint to its artistic tension.
Others fault its protagonist for an absence of motivation or energy.
In short, who is he?
Hollywood needs a new generation of vibrant young actors.
And better roles for them.
