Fans afforded Andrew Scott high praise on Wednesday evening by lauding him as the ‘definitive’ Tom Ripley – a character previously played by Hollywood luminaries Matt Damon and John Malkovich.
The Irish star, 47, has returned to TV screens in Netflix drama Ripley, a fresh take on Patricia Highsmith’s enduringly popular 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley.
And having impressed critics with its lavish use of black-and-white film and sweeping direction, the eight-part show’s leading man has been commended for his portrayal of the duplicitous titular con-man.
Taking to X, formerly, Twitter, on Wednesday evening, mesmerised viewers wrote: ‘Ok so I’ve already done two hours work and I’m having a big cuppa tea and watching the first episode of Ripley on Netflix and I’m here to tell you that it and Andrew Scott are both astonishingly beautiful & strange & deeply unsettling & you should watch it;
Fans afforded Andrew Scott high praise on Wednesday evening by lauding him as the ‘definitive’ Tom Ripley – a character previously played by Matt Damon and John Malkovich
The Irish star has returned to TV screens in Netflix drama Ripley, a fresh take on Patricia Highsmith’s enduringly popular 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley
The eight-part show’s leading man has been commended for his portrayal of the duplicitous titular con-man
‘Ripley series is on Netflix today. Slow-burner but intriguing… Scott is superb’;
‘A New Netflix Series Makes Andrew Scott the Definitive Tom Ripley’;
‘Saltburn? Netflix said I present to you Ripley. We love a scammer!’
However others were more critical of the show’s black-and-white aesthetic, while others were equally uncertain about Irishman Scott’s American accent.
‘Very sad the new Ripley is in black and white because the main and perhaps only appeal of the Italian landscapes are their colours,’ wrote one.
A second added: ‘Just started Ripley… my only comment on Andrew Scott’s American accent is “sure, why not.”
‘I love Andrew Scott but this Ripley series is BORING,’ wrote a third.
Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian’s (Schindler’s List) wrote and directed the latest screen adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, following in the footsteps of the 1999 film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Mesmerised viewers took to X following the show, but while most were impressed, some were critical of its black-and-white aesthetic, slow pacing and Irishman Scott’s American accent
The star-studded cast also includes Dakota Fanning who portrays Marge Sherwood and Johnny Flynn as Dickie
Andrew Scott’s central performance has captivated early viewers, with the Irish actor labelled ‘spellbinding’
With a noir take, in comparison to the sumptuous visuals of the Hollywood movie, critics have compared the Netflix version to Hitchcock in style and pace.
The Daily Mail’s Christopher Stephens writes: ‘This isn’t just television, it’s a homage to great 1940s directors such as Carol Reed or Alfred Hitchcock.’
Meanwhile Andrew Scott’s central performance has captivated early viewers, with the Scottish actor labelled ‘spellbinding’.
Lucy Mangan for The Guardian writes in her five star review that ‘Scott’s Tom is everything and nothing, and mesmeric either way,’ adding: ‘There is magic at work here.’
But The Independent’s Adam White is insistent that Scott, who also serves as executive producer, ‘feels all wrong for this’ and is comparable to an EastEnders baddie, looking ‘more like a lost Mitchell brother than a high society interloper.’
The novel has been filmed before, most famously in 1999 with Matt Damon as Tom Ripley and a supporting cast including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Pictured: Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in the adaptation
Zaillian’s visuals though have left the critics awe-struck with Carol Midgely of The Times noting that ‘it is so cinematic that it feels less like a TV series and more like a very long film’
Set in the 1960s, Ripley is hired by a wealthy New Yorker to travel to Italy to convince his wayward son Dickie (played by Johnny Flynn) to return home.
Tom lies his way into the lavish world of the elite before resorting to deceit and murder in a desperate attempt to keep his place at the table.
John Malkovich, who previously played the title role in 2002 movie Ripley’s Game, returns to the world of Tom Ripley in a wildly different part while the star-studded cast also includes Dakota Fanning who portrays Marge Sherwood, an American living in Italy who starts to suspect Tom’s motives.
While praise has been given to Scott, some reviewers felt the supporting cast came up short with Evening Standard’s Anna Van Praagh deciding that Dakota Fanning ‘can’t compete for a second with Gwyneth’s Paltrow’s flawless Marge Sherwood, and Johnny Flynn is left dead on the side of the road compared to Jude Law’s portrayal of Dickie Greenleaf, a character he inhabited perfectly.’
Zaillian’s visuals though have left the critics awe-struck with Carol Midgely of The Times noting that ‘it is so cinematic that it feels less like a TV series and more like a very long film,’ declaring it as ‘a completely hypnotic experience.’
Scott has called Ripley ‘a heavy part to play,’ telling Vanity Fair that he ‘found it mentally and physically really hard. That’s just the truth of it’.
‘I feel like you’re required to love and advocate for your characters, and your job is to go, “Why? What’s that?” You don’t play the opinions, the previous attitudes that people might have about Tom Ripley.
‘You have to throw all those out, try not to listen to them, and go, “Okay, well, I have to have the courage to create our own version and my own understanding of the character.”‘
Ripley is available to steam on Netflix now.
