Why Is The Talented Mr Ripley Important To The Novel
The Talented Mr. Ripley: Novel and Film
Novel
While the suspense and thriller qualities of Patricia Highsmith's novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, are certainly important, it is arguable that the most significant aspect of the book is its tone, or style. Published in 1955, this is fiction that consistently and powerfully adheres to a specific kind of writing. More exactly, it carries on the traditions of the 1940s detective story, and through a hard, plain style. Every scene, and from the opening on, reads virtually like a noir type of thriller, with language and description never veering from a tough and realistic presentation of what is occurring. In the beginning, for example, when Tom Ripley perceives he is being followed, the rhetorical …show more content…
There is the sense that Dickie Greenleaf is the spoiled, self-indulgent “charmer” and that Marge is basically a lovely person, but they are still more in place to reinforce Tom's craving to be them. Only the character of Freddie Miles rivals Tom's in strength, and simply because he is the one so mistrustful of him; this sets him apart from the world that accepts Tom's pretenses. It must also be said that, in terms of plot, the film suffers from uneven pacing. Momentum is crucial in a suspense/thriller, and the suspense is harmed by too much time emphasizing the good life Tom is after. Lastly, and interestingly, point of view has more than one effect here. Some empathy for Tom is created early on, and partly by virtue of Tom's desperate desire to please. Soon, however, his own actions then confuse and frighten the audience. This is in fact the film's best quality, because it brings the audience into the circle of people won over by, and later horrified at, Tom …show more content…
Here again, the differences has several sides to it. Meredith's attraction to Tom and his interest in her, before he even enters Dickie's and Marge's lives, works to reinforce the sexual ambiguity of the character. More exactly, without Meredith, the film would move more directly to the idea of Tom as desiring Dickie, as well as his life. Then, Meredith adds suspense, in that she is exposed to Tom's pretenses before anyone else, and she then foreshadows the more important role she will play later in the film. At the same time, however, this early example of Tom's sociopathic tendencies weakens the suspense of his involvement with Dickie and Marge. The audience already knows at least some of what Tom is capable of, and this would have more impact, as it does in the novel, with Tom's sudden belief that he has no choice, in the boat murder scene. Ultimately, then, and while the movie has a great deal to recommend it, it lacks the sharp and hard intensity of the novel. Ironically, the film as expanding the visual and physical dimensions of the story weakens the core impact, which is the developing sickness of Tom
Novel
While the suspense and thriller qualities of Patricia Highsmith's novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, are certainly important, it is arguable that the most significant aspect of the book is its tone, or style. Published in 1955, this is fiction that consistently and powerfully adheres to a specific kind of writing. More exactly, it carries on the traditions of the 1940s detective story, and through a hard, plain style. Every scene, and from the opening on, reads virtually like a noir type of thriller, with language and description never veering from a tough and realistic presentation of what is occurring. In the beginning, for example, when Tom Ripley perceives he is being followed, the rhetorical …show more content…
There is the sense that Dickie Greenleaf is the spoiled, self-indulgent “charmer” and that Marge is basically a lovely person, but they are still more in place to reinforce Tom's craving to be them. Only the character of Freddie Miles rivals Tom's in strength, and simply because he is the one so mistrustful of him; this sets him apart from the world that accepts Tom's pretenses. It must also be said that, in terms of plot, the film suffers from uneven pacing. Momentum is crucial in a suspense/thriller, and the suspense is harmed by too much time emphasizing the good life Tom is after. Lastly, and interestingly, point of view has more than one effect here. Some empathy for Tom is created early on, and partly by virtue of Tom's desperate desire to please. Soon, however, his own actions then confuse and frighten the audience. This is in fact the film's best quality, because it brings the audience into the circle of people won over by, and later horrified at, Tom …show more content…
Here again, the differences has several sides to it. Meredith's attraction to Tom and his interest in her, before he even enters Dickie's and Marge's lives, works to reinforce the sexual ambiguity of the character. More exactly, without Meredith, the film would move more directly to the idea of Tom as desiring Dickie, as well as his life. Then, Meredith adds suspense, in that she is exposed to Tom's pretenses before anyone else, and she then foreshadows the more important role she will play later in the film. At the same time, however, this early example of Tom's sociopathic tendencies weakens the suspense of his involvement with Dickie and Marge. The audience already knows at least some of what Tom is capable of, and this would have more impact, as it does in the novel, with Tom's sudden belief that he has no choice, in the boat murder scene. Ultimately, then, and while the movie has a great deal to recommend it, it lacks the sharp and hard intensity of the novel. Ironically, the film as expanding the visual and physical dimensions of the story weakens the core impact, which is the developing sickness of Tom