dir. Rene Clement (trailer) dir. Anthony Minghella (trailer)
While both Purple Noon and The Talented Mr. Ripley are both adapted from the same Patricia Highsmith novel, the two films couldn't be more different. Each film tells the story of Tom Ripley, a grifter who easily cons his way into the upper crust life of Dickie Greenleaf, a student loafing his way across Italy, and the way that the two men's lives change forever.
Purple Noon stars French actor Alain Delon and immediately sets the film up as Tom and Dickie being old buddies who have met up in Europe. Soon it is revealed that the two don't even know each other but that Dickie has gone along with the con due to the benefits of Tom's forgery skills and enjoyment he gets out of spending time with Tom. Once Dickie becomes annoyed with Tom and begins treating him badly, Tom decides to kill Dickie and take over his life. Things go well at first, until friends of Dickie's come looking for him and keep finding Tom. Purple Noon has a much tighter storyline than it's 1999 companion, leading to a more 'crime film' aspect to the movie rather than a drama. The film's strongest points come from the film's beautiful coloring, particularly bright blues of the ocean and brightness radiating off of the Italian coast, it creates the feeling of watching a moving painting. This is a great film for movie lovers who are hesitant to explore foreign films, as the film flies by and sucks you into the world of Tom Ripley.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is a much more straight forward film that follows the novel more closely than Purple Noon. While both films have generally the same plotline, The Talented Mr. Ripley begins in America with Tom (Matt Damon) impersonating a Princeton student, which leads to him meeting Dickie's (Jude Law) father who pays him to go to Italy and convince his son to come home. Much more drama ensues in this film as Tom weaves a large web of lies as he often runs into mutual friends and has to sneak his way out of awkward situations. While Purple Noon is a much more beautiful film, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a generally more well made film that makes the story more appealing to audiences.
I highly recommend both of these as each one has it's own unique flourishes and both will leave you following the shocking twists of the story.
Rating: ★★★★★
Recommended for fans of: classics, Strangers on a Train (1951), drama, Carol (2016), Diabolique (1955)
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