This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend. Read the full disclosure here.
“Ripley’s Reviews” is an ongoing series where I will review every book in Patricia Highsmith’s “Ripley” Series, as well as multiple screen adaptations of the novels. I will post my reviews on the first Thursday of the month, and delve into the twisted mind of one Tom Ripley and all the various interpretations that he has come to life within. Up next is the second film adaptation of a “Ripley” book I’m covering, the 1960 film “Purple Noon”.
Film: “Purple Noon (Plein soleil)” (1960)
It wasn’t until I started researching the Tom Ripley novels and all of their adaptations that I heard about “Purple Noon”, the 1960 French thriller that was the first Ripley screen adaptation. I am not as familiar with mid 20th century French cinema as a whole, though I’ve seen some classics like “Breathless”, “Hiroshima, Mon Amor”, and “Les Diaboliques”, so this title was brand new to me. But I was absolutely interested to see what a French adaptation of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” would look like. And it wasn’t at all what I expected. But in a mostly positive way. Though there are MANY differences between not only “Purple Noon” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley” the film, but also the book.
One of the biggest changes (of many!) is that in “Purple Noon”, Ripley’s object of sexual desire isn’t Dickie (or Philippe in this case), but it’s Marge. While Tom is still very much covetous of Philippe’s wealth and status, not once did I get the sense that he was into his pal, but man oh man was it pretty clear to me that he had the hots for Marge. It’s an interesting change, and one that simultaneously did and didn’t really work for me. I wholly understand that in 1960 the queer subtext was probably going to be left a bit behind, even in a French film, but it was still a little bit jarring to have Tom have his eyes on Marge while Philippe is definitely more a means to an end for funding and status. I kind of wondered why we even had that element when, in the original story, it’s really not at the forefront and one could argue isn’t needed. But it also kind of worked for me because the chemistry between Tom and Marge is there. It probably helps that Alain Delon and Marie Laforêt are both gorgeous and the backdrops were amazing and oof, they just crackled on screen. Which is, again, so strange to say about Tom Ripley given that in my mind he is a gay man. But hey, I’m going to allow it. I quite enjoyed their interactions. And I will say that there is a particular scene that was pretty sexy, even if the time period of the film means we didn’t get to see much.
But it’s also very different from the book in other ways, including Tom’s plotting of murdering Philippe (in that he plots it at all!), the point in the timeline where our story begins (we start well after Tom has cuddled up with Philippe in Italy), and even how things start to perhaps unravel towards the end. Though all that said a good chunk of it in the middle follows the book pretty well, including the Freddie Miles plot point and some of the cat and mouse games that Tom keeps going as he passes himself off as Philippe. But then it starts to shift off again. I’m a bit conflicted about all of this, in all honesty. On one hand, it feels like there are enough changes that it doesn’t REALLY feel like a well done adaptation of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, and that the liberties make it weaker. But on the other hand, it is such a well done film on its own standing that I really, really enjoyed it. The cinematography is gorgeous, the acting is really well done, and I was still quite entertained by the story even if I was thinking ‘that’s not quite right’ more often than not. And it also has the appropriate levels of creepy when it comes to Tom, even if he was a bit different from what I was expected and used to.
So is it a faithful adaptation? Not as much as I had expected. But it’s a well done film in its own right. I enjoyed watching “Purple Noon” and fully get why it’s a Criterion Collection member. Up next I’m going to take on “The American Friend”, which is an adaptation of “Ripley’s Game”. With Dennis Hopper as Ripley!
The Library Ladies 