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“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 third film adaptation of a “Ripley” book I’m covering, the 1977 film “The American Friend”.
Film: “The American Friend (Der amerikanische Freund” (1977)
When I started this series of reviewing books and films about Tom Ripley, I didn’t realize that there were so many adaptations of the various books. I had clearly heard of the Matt Damon film and the “Ripley” series on Netflix (look for that in the future), but goodness! There are quite a few more! And NEVER in a MILLION years would I have ever thought that Dennis Hopper would be playing Tom Ripley. Dennis Hopper!?!? My main associations with Hopper as an actor are as follows: “Apocalypse Now!”, “Speed”, and “Blue Velvet”. He’s fantastic and nails all of these roles, but reserved they are NOT. And Tom Ripley is a cold, calculating, patient, and restrained character. I am not sure if Hopper has ever played restrained (let me know if I’m wrong!). But in “The American Friend”, he is Tom Ripley, and he’s…. KIND OF restrained. And interestingly enough, it does, indeed, work.
“The American Friend” is mostly an adaptation of “Ripley’s Game”, in which Ripley manipulates a working class picture framer to do his dirty work of carrying out a couple hits against some mafia figures, which Ripley didn’t want to do himself. It also takes the plot of “Ripley Under Ground” of the art forgeries and inserts them into this film, so it’s KIND of an adaptation of that as well, though it’s more for context I’d say. As an adaptation of “Ripley’s Game” it follows the plot mostly closely, though Ripley himself is a bit of a departure. And it probably is because Hopper is playing him. Instead of a put together and subtle posh fella living a luxurious quiet life, THIS Ripley feels like he could lose control at any minute, making him menacing in a different way. Yes, he does have a lot more calmly sinister moments, but it’s Dennis Hopper, and the more implied fiery villainy is a departure, but not in a bad way. I’m admittedly probably going to like Hopper in most anything I see him in, so I could be biased. But I thought that his Ripley was interesting and refreshing. And I really enjoyed the chemistry he had with Bruno Ganz, who plays manipulated picture framer Johnathan Zimmerman (they changed his name in this from Trevanny; not sure if it’s because this character is German instead of British, but it doesn’t really affect anything). This kind of feels like a buddy comedy in some ways as these two play off each other, since in this Ripley genuinely feels shame about his actions. Well, as much as he CAN, given that he’s still monstrous. He just feels a bit bad about it. He’s not the Ripley I’ve come to expect, but I still thought it was a fun interpretation. Cowboy hat and all (book Ripley would NEVER).
Speaking of Ganz, if I felt back for Johnathan in the book, I REALLY felt bad for him in the film. I think that that’s in part because he is just so worried about his wife and son, believing that he is dying of his until now stable blood disease (and like in the book, no, Ripley tricked him with a fake doctor and diagnosis) and that they will be penniless should he die. I am wholly unfamiliar with Ganz as an actor, as I have not seen much German cinema, but man he just broke my heart. You just feel his anxiety and desperation when he interacts with his family. I felt the same disgust for Ripley and his stupid mean plan as I did when I was reading the book. Ganz nailed it. And like I said above, the chemistry between him and Hopper was unexpected and sometimes, dare I say, kind of sweet?
As a thriller this is very well done, it’s intense and unrelenting. The tension is palpable and there are some scenes that truly had me at the edge of my seat, and the cinematography had some really great bits (I’m thinking of a particular scene where we are seeing Zimmerman flee and we are tracking him through his movements via the security camera footage). I also really loved a chase scene on a beach. Wim Wenders directed this and he had a very clear vision that translated well on the screen, with intensity and grittiness to spare.
So at this point in adaptations, I would say that Damon’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” is still the best, followed by “The American Friend”, and then “Purple Moon”. But they’ve all been really enjoyable! Perhaps it should be no surprise that Tom Ripley is a character that translates well to the screen. Up next I am going to watch “Ripley Under Ground”, with Barry Pepper as Tom Ripley!
The Library Ladies 