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Netflix’s Ripley is not simply a longer remake of Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film: it trades that movie’s sunlit glamour for monochrome unease and gives Tom Ripley’s schemes far more room to unfold. Whether it is a “shadow” of the beloved film depends on what a viewer values. The series is meticulous and Andrew Scott’s performance is compelling, but its deliberate pace can drain suspense.
What are the two versions?
Netflix’s Ripley, which premiered April 4, 2024, is an eight-episode limited series written and directed by Steven Zaillian. It adapts Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley, Dakota Fanning plays Marge Sherwood, and Johnny Flynn plays Dickie Greenleaf. Netflix places the story in the early 1960s: New York grifter Ripley is hired to persuade a wealthy man’s son to return from Italy. Netflix’s series page provides its episode and cast details.
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The principal screen comparison is Minghella’s 1999 feature film, starring Matt Damon as Tom, Jude Law as Dickie, and Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge. The difference in format matters: a feature film has to compress the novel’s movements, while eight episodes can stay with Ripley’s decisions and the practical work of deception and concealment.
How does the series differ from the film?
Eight episodes give the scheme room to breathe
Zaillian’s adaptation spends time on the mechanics of Ripley’s lies: the calls, journeys, observations, and adjustments that let him occupy another person’s life. That can make the character’s transformation feel incremental rather than instantaneous. Zaillian described one intentionally extended sequence to the Television Academy as “probably written as a 10-page scene of a guy on a telephone.” The Television Academy interview offers a glimpse of the series’ approach to time and tension.
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That narrative space is not automatically an advantage. TIME argues that the eight-hour runtime lets the series follow the novel’s plot more closely than earlier screen versions, while also finding that the languor sometimes robs the story of suspense. That is a critical assessment of this adaptation, not a measurement of fidelity or a consensus among viewers.
Monochrome Italy replaces postcard warmth
The 1999 film is associated with sunlit Italian settings; Zaillian’s series instead uses black-and-white photography, shadow, and sharply defined lines to make the locations feel foreboding. He told Netflix Tudum, “I never saw it as some sunny, colorful postcard of a story but rather as the foreboding suspense story that it is.” Netflix Tudum’s production feature describes the series’ visual approach and production design.
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The monochrome look is part of the storytelling, not just a period effect. It turns Italy from an inviting escape into an environment of watchfulness and concealment. The production filmed in places including Venice, Rome, Naples, Palermo, and Atrani; Tudum reports that the designers researched period details and built more than 200 sets and locations. Robert Elswit served as director of photography.
Scott and Damon offer different routes into Tom Ripley
Scott’s Tom is restrained and watchful, with a polished surface that seems to form as he learns what each situation requires. TIME praises the performance as both restrained and dynamic. The extended format lets viewers observe the calculation behind Ripley’s changing persona, rather than relying only on a quick impression of his charm.
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Damon’s portrayal belongs to a different film and rhythm. Rather than declare one actor the definitive Ripley, it is more useful to consider what each adaptation emphasizes: the series follows the slow construction of a criminal identity, while the film has less time to dwell on every calculation. Scott has described the source character’s unsettling appeal this way: “What I think Highsmith does brilliantly is make us root for somebody, even though they’re doing something that we probably wouldn’t do ourselves.” The Television Academy quoted him in its emmy magazine coverage. That interview material speaks to the moral tension at the heart of the character.
Does the slow pace work?
The series asks viewers to attend to pauses, routines, and small decisions as closely as to the crimes themselves. Those stretches can create procedural tension: a minor mistake or delay feels consequential because the viewer has watched Ripley build the cover story piece by piece. They can also make the suspense feel distant. TIME’s criticism is that the slow burn sometimes saps momentum, while Scott has acknowledged that some viewers may need to adjust to the style. In an Associated Press interview, he said, “You have to teach the audience how to watch it to a certain degree.” The Associated Press report discusses the deliberate pacing.
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That trade-off is the clearest test for a viewer choosing between the versions. If the pleasure comes from momentum, glamour, and a tightly compressed crime story, the 1999 film is likely the more satisfying watch. If the appeal is watching a con take shape through repeated acts of observation and concealment, Zaillian’s series uses its length to good effect.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Netflix’s Ripley as good as the 1999 movie?
There is no objective ranking established by the available evidence, and no comparative audience survey here shows that viewers prefer one version. TIME’s response is mixed: it praises Scott, the supporting performances, sound design, Elswit’s monochrome cinematography, and Zaillian’s care, but finds the pacing costly and the finale’s Caravaggio comparison unearned. Those strengths and reservations make the series an accomplished but divisive alternative, not a straightforward replacement for Minghella’s film.
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For viewers interested in the adaptation’s relationship to the book, Netflix Tudum’s feature on the series discusses its story and ending. The series’ greater room for detail can bring it closer to the novel’s plot in TIME’s view, but the screen versions remain distinct interpretations rather than interchangeable tellings.
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