Last week I rewatched the final three episodes of Steve Zallian‘s Ripley and then decided to re-watch Anthony Minghella‘s The Talented Mr. Ripley as well as Rene Clement‘s Purple Noon (’60).
Okay, I actually gave up when it came to re-watching the Minghella, but I’ll get to it this evening.
Basic conclusions or re-realizations: (a) I love Ripley‘s luxurious, laid-back Zen vibe… you can get lost in it, very pleasurably, and after two episodes you’ll never want to leave;
(b) The ultra-tight narrative of Clement’s version feels kinda great after you’ve been Ripley-ing;
(c) The late Marie Laforêt, who played Marge in Purple Noon when she was 20, is ten or twelve times hotter than Dakota Fanning‘s Marge in Ripley. Which is not a problem for Fanning, of course — she’s totally fine, excellent actress — but watching Laforet is…how to put it?…good for the soul.
